Glow
by CursedRedRose
Summary: When her final project of the year is to design an outfit for a fashion show, Marinette hopes to be paired with her crush Adrien but is placed with Nathanael instead. However, when she and Nathanael end up getting closer, Adrien gets concerned and starts to visit her as Chat Noir. As tensions run and heartstrings are pulled, who will win her heart? NathanealxMarinettexAdrien
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everybody and welcome to my newest story on Miraculous Ladybug, I really cannot get enough of this show! I've had this idea milling around my mind for a while now but I only recently got it down because I wanted to write a story with Nathanaël in it. He's become one of my favourites in the show and I hope that we are going to see more of him in the next season (#NeedMoreNathanaël). Anyway, please enjoy and leave a review!_

Marinette couldn't wait to be in school that morning. She was so excited, she had almost burst into the room the moment the doors had been opened and now she sat lightly bouncing in her seat as she could barely contain herself. Around her, the rest of the chairs began to fill up and the air was busy with lively chatter but she stared straight ahead, the grin on her face steadily growing until her cheeks couldn't stretch any further. That grin was the first thing Alya saw when she walked into the classroom a few moments later and she smiled endearingly at her friend as she parked herself next to her.

"Wow, you really are excited for this project." She said as Marinette squeaked in agreement, sounding like a tiny eager mouse. "I've never seen you like this for school before."

"Alya this isn't just any school project," Marinette enthused, her eyes sparkling with the joy that was fizzing through her veins like the sweetest of sugar highs. "This is an amazing opportunity for me! We get to submit an outfit into our own school fashion show and a whole panel of designers, including Gabriel Agreste, are going to see it and judge a winner! I've been waiting for this all year Alya, this could be my chance to get noticed! Wouldn't that be amazing? Look, I even have some designs ready, they're just ideas but they could be good…" She took out a thin folder and opened it proudly, showing off all the sketches that were inside like a proud mother.

"Um-hum." Alya went with a knowing smile on her face. "Are you sure you're not also excited about potentially being partnered with a certain boy who may or may not sit in front of us?"

Marinette's face went pink and her sapphire eyes darted around the room as she tried to look anywhere but at her best friend. "Well…I have thought about it," She said, not daring to admit it had been on her mind practically every waking moment since the project dates were revealed last week. "It would be amazing to be paired with him. He looks good in pretty much everything but I really want to put him in some sort of bright colour, like a green or something… Do…do you think we'd make a good team?"

"Really? The aspiring fashion designer and the part-time model? How could you not?" Alya replied and she watched her brighten up instantly. "Seriously, you'd be a match made in Heaven."

"You really think so?!" Marinette beamed and Alya chuckled.

"Girl, I know so!" She smiled. "I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that it'll happen. Think of all the time you'll spend together…"

"I know!" Marinette squealed in a tone that sounded both delighted and completely petrified at the same time. "I'm so nervous…what if I get partnered with him and he thinks I'm a total dork? What if he gets partnered with another girl and he decides he likes her more? What if it's…Chloe?!"

"Chloe?" Alya snorted. "Marinette, Adrien may be oblivious to a lot of things but he isn't blind. You've been a lot more confident around him recently too. Last time, you were talking to him in full sentences! And you didn't stumble! It'll be fine, you just need to calm yourself." She put her hands on her shoulders and hugged her, feeling how her friend took a breath and relaxed. "Still, I do pity whoever does get partnered with her…that would be enough to make me stab myself with the dressmaker's scissors."

Marinette giggled as Alya mimed it, greatly exaggerating the scissors plunging into her stomach, but she stopped and fell silent when the door swung open and the boy they had just been discussing casually strolled into the room. He was then followed by Chloe, who grabbed at his arm as he politely tried to fend her off. He turned to the two of them and gave them a wave and Marinette felt herself freeze in place. She gulped and felt her cheeks go red as Alya hoisted up her hand and made her wave back. Adrien smiled at them as he sat down and Alya dropped Marinette's hand with a sigh.

"Marinette, you really need to get yourself together." She said good-humouredly as the pouting blonde continued to pester Adrien, buzzing around his desk like an irritating bee at a picnic.

"Oh Adrien, I can't wait for us to be partners in this project!" She gushed as she fluttered her eyelashes at him and clasped her hands under her chin. "I know we're going to be so perfect together, I've already got so many ideas on how to dress you…"

"It's nice to see your enthusiasm Chloe but we don't even know if we're going to be partners yet." Adrien said, looking relieved as he was distracted by the arrival of Nino. The DJ greeted him with a hi-five as he plonked himself down in his seat but a little growl from Chloe forced him to turn back to her. "We'll just have to wait and see."

"Hmph." Chloe huffed, crossing her arms and tossing her head so her ponytail flapped like the wing of a demented bird. "Well, it will be a crime if we aren't paired together Adrikins. We'd make such a great team together."

She lingered on the last word, making her voice go breathy as she leaned in close to him. He quickly leaned back and put his hands on her shoulders to gently hold her back, trying hard not to let how uncomfortable he was show on his face.

"I think we'll let the teachers be the judge of that." Alya dropped into the conversation suddenly, causing Chloe to drag her eyes away from Adrien and scowl in her direction. "They did say they would be trying to pair people who haven't interacted much this year so we could end up with anyone."

"Yeah, she's right Chloe." Adrien jumped on Alya's words relieved. "We just can't be certain. I'm sure it will still be a fun project though, whoever we're with."

Chloe snarled as she stared at Alya and Marinette darkly, her eyes flashing with anger. Alya steadily returned her gaze with a little smug smile and Marinette did the same. At least now she knew that even if Adrien did end up with Chloe, she would be the only one happy with the pairing.

The door opened and their teacher Madame Bustier entered the room. "Good morning class," She addressed them all with a kind smile as they all rushed to their seats and stared at her expectantly. They were all eager to discover who their partners would be and it felt like the list of names she was holding in her hands would spell out the whole fates of their project. "As you all know, today you will be starting your final project this year which will be to create an outfit to be shown in our school fashion show that will be judged by a prestigious panel of experts. You will be put into pairs and one of you will be modelling the outfit. It can be for either gender and you have two weeks." The level of excitement in the room was slowly building as people looked around at their friends, hoping against hope that they would be partnered. Marinette dared to sneak a glance at Adrien and saw he had a calm expression on his face but his hands were twitching. "Now before I tell you who your partners are, I need to tell you all the theme of the fashion show. This year it will be ballroom glamour so girls, you will be wearing ball gowns and boys, you will be in the smartest and most elaborate suits you can make. For this theme, nothing is too over the top!"

Ballroom glamour? Marinette felt almost giddy and she had to grip Alya's arm tightly to stop herself falling off her seat in pure happiness. This theme is perfect! She thought as she took another look at the back of Adrien's head. I could do anything with that theme, so many things would look so perfect on him…

"Now for the pairings," Madame Bustier's voice rang out and she sat bolt upright in her seat, still clinging to Alya's arm like it was a life raft anchoring her to reality. "OK the first pairing is… Chloe and Alix!"

"What?!" The tiny pink-haired girl shot up from her seat and stared in furious horror at the open-mouthed blonde who had also stood up. The rest of the class looked at her sympathetically but silently sighed with relief.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Chloe exploded. "You cannot expect me to work with somebody like her! I should be with Adrien, I don't want her as a partner!"

"What makes you think I want to work with a brat like you?!" Alix shouted and Chloe whipped around in anger.

"How dare you, you little half-pint! Take that back!"

"Not on your life, you snooty-"

"Both of you sit back down!" Madame Bustier barked and they both fell back into their seats, stunned at the sight of their most mellow teacher so angry. "I don't want to hear any more about this! Nobody is allowed to swap partners so you will both just have to make the best of it! Do you both hear me?"

"Yes Madame." Both girls echoed as they frowned at each other before deliberately looking away. Alix looked over at Kim and they both looked at each other disappointed as the names keep being read out.

"Nino and Sabrina!"

"Kim and Rose!"

"Max and Ivan!"

"Mylene and Juleka!"

Marinette felt her stomach flipped with each new pairing, her hopes rising with every name called. They were now down to only a handful of students and neither her name nor Adrien's had been called. She was only a step away…

"Adrien and…Alya!"

Both girl's eyes went wide as they gave each other a shocked look. Adrien turned around and gave Alya a small smile and a thumbs up and she returned it with a quick one of her own whilst Marinette looked on in dismay. So close, she had been so close…

"Sorry," Alya whispered to her, feeling guilty about the whole thing. "I guess I was crossing my fingers too hard."

"It's OK, it's not your fault, you didn't make the pairings." Marinette whispered back as Madame Bustier read out the last two names.

"And that leaves us with Marinette and Nathanaël!"

Marinette turned her head around to look at the back of the classroom where the redheaded boy was sitting. He angled his head and saw her looking and a deep bush suddenly took over his face, making it go almost the colour of his hair. Everyone else started to shuffle around the room to sit by their new partners, some more grudgingly than others, and Marinette made to stand up, Alya giving her an apologetic look.

"At least you're with Nathanaël, that's not too bad, right?" She said, her smile a little strained. Everyone knew that Nathanaël had previously had a crush on Marinette, leading him to get akumaised and go after Chloe when she made fun of him, and the two hadn't spoken much since, the awkwardness being too overbearing. That's probably why we were put together, she thought and she bit her lip. "And don't worry, I'll drop your name into the conversation as much as I can."

Marinette smiled at that. Out of all the people in the room, she was glad it was Alya who was paired with Adrien; she knew she would have her back. "Thanks Alya, you're the best." She winked at her and she winked back before Marinette gathered her books and walked to the back of the classroom. Nathanaël had bowed his head so his messy hair was covering his face but she could still feel his turquoise eyes on her and it made her feel flustered. She didn't know how he felt about her now and if he still held feelings deep down, this could be the most awkward project ever.

"Hey Nat." She said, her voice trying to sound cheerful but it came out a little flat. "You excited for this?"

"H-hey Marinette." Nathanaël stammered out, his words nearly swallowed up by the hum of chatter that had engulfed the class. Marinette had to sit down next to him and lean in just to hear his words but that only seemed to make him worse. "Y-yeah, I'm really excited, I've been l-looking forwards to this all year."

"Really?" Marinette replied. "So have I!" She smiled at him and this caused him to look up at her. He returned her dazzling smile with a small one of his own and some of the tension in the air seemed to dissipate. "I have some ideas here but we don't have to use any of them if you don't want to…"

"These look really good!" Nathanaël said as his eyes poured over the designs she placed in front of him. "Honestly, we could use any one of these and it would be great! I made some too but they aren't as good…" He hesitantly held out his sketchbook and she gently took it and watched her anxiously as she leafed through the pages. "I mean, yours are better, they have fabrics on them… I just sort of drew without thinking of the practicalities."

"Are you kidding me? These are amazing!" Marinette beamed as she gazed in awe at the drawings in front of her. "You've really brought these to life, I could just see them on the runway! You know, I think if we put our heads together, we could come up with something truly spectacular. With your artistic vision and my knowledge of fabrics, we could ace this thing!"

"You really think so?" Nathanaël was grinning from ear to ear as his stomach felt like it was filled with butterflies. He was going to spend all this time with Marinette…it was a dream come true.

"I know so!" Marinette smiled and her old excitement came flooding back as she looked into his pleased face. "Now we should start brainstorming."

"Agreed." Nathanaël smiled at her again and something in it made her grin back. We must both look like grinning fools, she thought as they put their heads down and lost themselves in their work. As they got under way she paused to look over at him and found he was already looking at her, a dreamy glaze over his eyes. They both blushed deep red as they caught each other's eyes and shot their heads back down but it made Marinette give a little private smile. Maybe this project wouldn't be so bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2

As the class settled into their pairs and started to work, except for one where the two girl sat sullenly at the front whilst furiously not looking at each other, Adrien and Alya began their brainstorming. Alya took her pencil and started tapping it against the side of her head as Adrien patiently sat there and waited for her to speak. He was feeling relieved that he had been partnered up with someone he was really friendly with and he was also happy for her to take charge.

"OK, well first of all we're making a suit." Alya stated as she started scribbling a list of notes.

"We are?" Adrien looked at her in surprise. "Why?"

She looked at him like he had just beamed down from Mars and said "Because you're Adrien Agreste silly! I have a model on my side and I'm going to use him to full advantage. Unless you want to wear a dress…"

"No thanks!" Adrien said quickly. "But…I would've thought you would want to make one. Y'know, for yourself." He then said shyly, his hand going to the back of his neck and his voice sounding slightly flummoxed.

Oh, he is so sweet, Alya thought as she stared at the suddenly awkward boy. He was only trying to be nice and go along with what he thought she wanted. He and Marinette really are perfect for each other, she realised happily. They were both the most selfless people she knew.

She lightly patted Adrien's shoulder and he looked surprised at the friendly touch. "That's very sweet of you Adrien but believe me, I would be hopeless on the runway, I'd end up falling over and looking ridiculous. I'm more of a behind the camera person than a front of camera one," She explained, holding up her hand to stop him from denying anything she said. "And also, I feel more comfortable making a suit anyway, I can't think of the last time I wore a dress. I would rather do that, unless you don't want to…"

"No, no! I'm happy to!" He rushed to assure her and his eagerness to please made her smile. He was like a little puppy, she thought, and she was tempted to give him a pat on his golden head.

"Right then, suit it is!" She beamed and he beamed happily back. "OK, we need something eye-catching, something that is really going to pop, I don't want our design to get lost because it looks too boring…" They both stared down at the blank piece of paper in front of them, foreheads creased as they tried to think. Alya looked over at her partner and she remembered something from Marinette's ramblings. "How about a bright colour, like green or something?" She suggested. "It would really bring out your eyes."

"Yeah, that would work." Adrien said. "And we could put some gold on it, like for the binding… and if we used it for the design too…"

"Perfect!" Alya exclaimed as she started to draw a very rough outline on the paper. "This is gonna rock!"

Adrien nodded enthusiastically but his attention was suddenly stolen when he heard a loud giggle from behind him. He turned his head and looked over at the back of the classroom to see Marinette was the source of the happy noise and she didn't look able to contain it. Her hands were covering her mouth as she tried to stop the flow of laughter but it kept bubbling over and tears were forming in the corner of her eyes.

"Nathanaël!" He heard her squeak between breathes and he couldn't help but notice the way he was looking at her. He watched as Nathanaël leant over and whispered something in her ear, making her laugh harder and he felt a knot in his stomach. Although he would never have admitted it to anyone, he had almost been hoping to be put with Marinette and not just because everyone knew this project was right up her street. Recently, he and the dark-haired girl had been growing closer; they had been able to have conversations without her getting flustered around him, he had been round her house and met her parents, they had even been to places with Alya and Nino. She had used to be so shy around him and he had thought she was scared of him but now she had started to really come out of her shell and he had hoped the project would help that to continue as he wanted to know her better. But that hadn't happened and now she was with Nathanaël. He didn't know why but the thought of that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, like the cat part of him wanted to hiss. Why was that? He thought. Was it something to do with that mission he and Marinette had had against him as the Evillustrator?

"Adrien?" He heard Alya say his name and he spun back around to look at her. "I've asked you the same question three times now. Do you like the idea of buttons on the cuffs or do you reckon we should get a pair of really nice cufflinks?"

"Oh! Right, sorry Alya," Adrien said sheepishly before he peered at the design Alya had crafted. She wasn't the best artist in the world but it still looked really good and he smiled his approval at it. "Definitely buttons, it will make it flow more, I think."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." Alya agreed as she marked it down. She took a side look at him and realised he was staring over at Marinette, who appeared to be enjoying working with Nathanaël a lot from the piles of paper that were cluttering the desk around the two of them. She saw Adrien's mouth twitch at the sound of her laughing again and it nearly made her gasp. Was Adrien jealous? There was only one way for her to find out…

"So, what do you think of the other pairings?" she asked him and watched as he craned his head back to her. "Who do you think will be our main competition?"

"You're getting very competitive Alya." Adrien said, almost sounding worried and she laughed.

"I always do, it's part of my nature. Now c'mon, who looks like a force to be reckoned with?"

Adrien chuckled at her before he scoped out the class. "Well, I think we can rule out Chloe and Alix," he started off and Alya gave an approving nod. "They don't look like they've spoken to each other yet so I don't know how they are going to make a dress. Nino's very creative and I think Sabrina will be glad to let him take the reins-I know she doesn't like attention much so she won't want to model. I don't know about Rose and Kim but they could be a good team and they seem to be getting on. Max will be very technical about this so his and Ivan's will be well-made at least. Mylene and Juleka are getting on like a house on fire and I think they will be good. Nathanaël and Marinette…" He paused briefly as he looked at them and Alya detected the note of hesitation instantly. "Well, we both know how good Marinette is with design and Nathanaël is very creative. I would say they are the main threat."

"That's what I was thinking," Alya said, deciding to crank up the heat a little bit. "Don't you think they look cute together?"

"What?" Adrien spun round so fast, his seat wobbled and Alya had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing.

"You heard me. Don't you think they would make a cute couple? They already have so much in common…"

"But why would they be a couple?" Adrien asked. "They've only just been partnered!"

"Adrien, everybody knows Nathanaël has a crush on Marinette," Alya answered, studying his face for a reaction and wanting to squeal when she saw how he was scowling a little. "He's had it for almost the whole year and now that they are going to spend so much time together, he might decide to act on it."

"But Alya," Adrien replied, his voice sounding concerned. "Aren't you worried?"

"Worried?" She repeated, surprised. "Why would I be worried?"

"Didn't he go after Marinette when he was akumatised?" Adrien said, not realising his hand on the desk had clenched into a fist. "I mean, if Chat Noir hadn't been there, who knows what could have happened to her."

"But that was the Evillustrator, not Nathanaël," Alya pointed out. "The boy wouldn't hurt a fly otherwise. Don't worry about it Adrien, Marinette can look after herself you know."

"Yeah I know." He said mysteriously and Alya saw him look over at her laughing friend with a small smile on his face. She turned her eyes back to her almost-finished sketch, just about containing herself from clapping her hands together. I knew it! She thought gleefully. Marinette is going to freak about this…

That night, Chat Noir was on patrol. He made his way over the rooftops of Paris nimbly, using his staff to vault over gaps as he scoured the city for any kind of trouble. He hadn't found any yet; Paris seemed to be quiet that night unlike his occupied mind. For some reason, he couldn't get Marinette and Nathanaël out of his mind and, although he tried to shake it off and not worry like Alya said, he couldn't help feeling troubled by it. It had started with all the laughing and giggling he had seen and the fact that Nathanaël had stuck to her side all day, even offering to walk her home from school even though he lived in the opposite direction. Then it had been how Marinette conversed so easily with him, how she didn't seem to blush or stumble over her words when they spoke, yet when he had gone over, she froze up and let Alya and Nino do the talking. She had practically ran out of school at the end of the day, promising something about fabrics to Nathanaël and when he had passed and said goodbye, she had looked terrified and that had felt like a dagger in his stomach. How was he so easy with her? Wait…was he jealous of Nathanaël? The thought made him stop sharply on the corner of the nearest roof. Why would he be? It's not like Marinette was his or anything…he was just protective of her because of the whole Evillustrator incident, yes that had to be it. There was nothing weird about being worried for a friend.

He stood up fully and realised he was standing on Marinette's street. He could see the bakery on the corner up ahead and the window of her bedroom was brightly lit, a speck of light in the dark street. A smile crossed his features as he thought of her in there and he started to run across the rooftops towards it. This wasn't creepy, was it? He thought as he climbed up to her window and crouched on the balcony, careful to avoid breaking any potted plants. She had met him before as Chat Noir and it wasn't like he had any creepy intentions, he just wanted to see her. She had seemed so confident around Chat Noir before and he was a hero so he knew she wouldn't be scared. Satisfied, he pressed his nose against the glass and scanned the room.

He caught sight of her by her desk and he couldn't help but grin at seeing her. Surrounded by the glow of her pink room, she was completely in her element as she sat among a mountain range of scraps of fabric, pins sticking out of her mouth and a marker pen by her leg. She was sitting in front of a giant piece of white card and she was pinning different pieces of fabric onto it, occasionally stopping to rip one off and replace it with other or nodding in satisfaction and labelling certain ones proudly, guaranteeing their place there. Her hair was still in pigtails but she was dressed in a pair of pyjamas that he thought were adorable, white cotton patterned with little pink blossom flowers and edged with ribbon. They looked professionally made but they were so Marinette, he had no doubt she had made them herself. She really was going to be their main competition.

He tapped on the glass with his claws and she jumped up, spitting pins onto the floor and sending several squares of material flying. She threw her arms up like she was readying for a fight but when she saw him through the window she dropped them by her side before firmly planting them on her hips. He waved at her through the glass and she opened the window to let him in.

"Hey princess." He grinned at her and she glared at him.

"You gave me a fright Chat." She told him, hands still on her hips. "What are you doing here? Aren't you meant to be patrolling?"

"Can't I come and see my favourite civilian when I want to?" He pouted at her. "And everything is fine princess, don't you worry. How did you know I was on patrol?"

"Lucky guess." She smiled at him wryly and he felt himself relax. That meant she wasn't going to kick him out. "Well, I guess now that you're here, you can make yourself useful. Come here and hold this. Mind out, there are pins on the floor."

"Glad to help a purr-incess in need." He purred at her as he sank to the floor next to her on top of a pile of slippery fabrics. She handed him two squares, one of deep red velvet and the other of turquoise crepe de chine, and made him hold them against each other.

"Which do you like best?"

"Are you asking me to take the red or the blue?" He asked cheekily and she pretended to hit him on the head.

"Stupid cat."

"That's harsh." He pouted again as she swatted at him and he deflected it easily. "But I like the blue more."

"I thought so too." She agreed, taking it from him and pinning it to the board whilst she labelled it. "I thought the velvet might be too heavy."

They passed the time pleasantly as they continued to add to the board, Marinette asking Chat for advice on colours and fabrics and him offering his opinion. They both were surprised to find they agreed on a lot of things and they chatted easily as the mounts of fabrics around them shifted, as those who didn't make the cut were added to a sloping discard pile.

"So princess, what is this for?" He asked her, as the last bit of white was covered with a piece of light grey chiffon. "Something to do with your designing?"

"Sort of. It's like a mood board of all the potential fabrics we could use for a school project, I promised my partner I would make one so we could see what fits best." She replied before she turned around and gave him a funny look. "How do you know about my designing?"

"You have designs all over your walls, plus all these posters of models." He answered quickly, hiding a gulp as he waved an arm over her walls. There were an awful lot of his pictures there, he realised and that made him want to smile for some reason. "How could you not? And who's this partner of yours?"

"Oh he's a boy from my class, his name is Nathanaël," Marinette answered and the way she smiled when she said his name made the knot in his stomach reappear. "We make a really great team, he's an artist so he's very creative and he's such a nice guy. I never realised how funny he was…"

Every word she said made the knot tighten. How could that little blob of ketchup be funny? He was more funny than him! "Nathanaël, Nathanaël…" He pretended to muse on the name, tapping his chin. "Is he really short, kinda quiet usually, has red hair in a silly fringe over his eye?"

"It's not silly!" She said. "And he's about my height. Are you calling me short?"

"No!" He quickly backtracked. "You're meant to be that height, you're a girl."

"Well spotted." She said dryly as she crossed her arms and glared at him and he wanted to hit himself for being such an idiot. "But yes, that's him."

"Then wasn't he the kid that became the Evillustrator?" He asked, the concern in his voice making her lose her cross expression. "Doesn't that worry you, working with him after what he did to you? What he could have done to you?"

"Well…I won't deny that it hasn't crossed my mind Chat," She admitted, lowering her arms. "But after today, I'm not worried about it. Nathanaël is one of the sweetest guys I've ever met and I know he wouldn't try to hurt me. What he did then wasn't him, it was the influence of Hawkmoth."

"But…" Chat was about to start arguing when Marinette gave a giant yawn, the force of it almost looking like it would unhinge her jaw. He then noticed how her eyes were fighting to close. "Princess, you need to go to bed."

"I'm fine Chat, really." She told him, suppressing another yawn as he looked on worriedly. "I've stayed up later than this before."

"Not tonight you're not," He told her firmly, standing up and sounding like a bossy parent. "C'mon, young lady."

"Chat…" She moaned at him but he had already scooped her up in his arms and was carrying her to bed like she was a bride he was carrying over the threshold. He was very warm and comforting and she found that she was nuzzling into him as her tiredness took over.

"There's a good princess." He said gently as she let him lay her down on her bed and pull the covers over her as her eyes fluttered sleepily.

"Thanks for your help tonight Chat." She mumbled as he tucked her in.

"It was my purr-leasure." He told her and she was too tired to tell him off. "Goodnight Marinette."

"Goodnight Chat." She murmured, just before she closed her eyes. He heard her soft breathing and smiled down at how cute she looked. He dragged himself away and left by the window he had come through, being careful to close it so she wouldn't feel the draft, before he sprinted away back over the rooftops. As what he had just done sank in, he realised that the knot in his stomach had gone and it felt like it had been replaced by a million butterflies that went into a frenzy whenever he thought of her. Was that normal to tuck friends into bed and feel like this afterwards? He thought as he headed for home. Of course it was, it's only right to care for a friend like that, he was looking out for her, that's all. That's all it was, he firmly told himself, that's it.

 _I really can't resist Marichat cuteness! Please leave a review and tell me what you think!_


	3. Chapter 3

The next day, Marinette was in a very good mood after a long peaceful sleep. She bounded into school, humming a cheerful tune as she lugged the giant board behind her that carried all her squares of material that fluttered in the light breeze like flags. Although her parents had expressed concern about taking it in with her, she had insisted on it and had walked it the whole way, earning her some strange looks as she heaved it along that she sunnily ignored. It had taken quite a lot of effort to get it up the steps but her spirits weren't dampened. She was so excited about finally starting on the project that nothing could have dented her mood and she felt like she was skipping on air as she made her way to the classroom.

When she reached it, she found Nathanaël was already there and he instantly jumped up to help the moment he saw her struggling to get through the door.

"Wow Marinette!" He said, his eyes wide as they got it through and leaned it against the back wall. "This is your mood board?"

"Yeah, I did promise you some samples," She answered, grinning at how amazed he looked. "And I had quite a few I wanted to show you at home so ta-da!" She flourished her hands widely at the board and giggled as Nathanaël laughed.

"Only a few? It looks like the contents of a whole fabric shop." He replied as he ran his hands over some of the pieces, making them dance with his touch. He paused to test some between his fingers at he marvelled at all the different textures. "There are so many beautiful ones…and all labelled too…this must have taken you ages."

"Well, I did have a little help." She said, a little smile playing across her lips when she thought about the night before. Hanging out with her crime-fighting partner out of costume had actually been really fun, talking to him had been so easy and she had been almost disappointed to wake up and find he was no longer there, until she had remembered what she was going to start that day. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" He said, turning his head to beam at her. She clasped her hands together in glee and smiled back, making him blush and whip his head back quickly to the fabrics. "There are so many here…they'll be great to match some of the things I drew…b-but only if you like them of course…"

"I'm sure I'll love them, may I see?" She asked and he handed her his sketchbook whilst averting his gaze.

"These are the ones I did last night…I tried to keep fabrics in mind but if you don't like them…"

"Nathanaël, these are incredible!" He looked at her stunned as she went through them, her eyes sparkling at each new drawing she saw.

"Really?"

"Yes! Seriously, I can't pick one they are all so amazing…but they're all ball gowns." She stopped turning the pages and looked up at him in surprise. She went over every page again, expecting herself to have missed something, but every design still showed a flowing ball gown with no suit in sight. "I didn't think we had decided…"

"We hadn't," Nathanaël answered, his hand going to the back of his neck as he dipped his head. "I just kept getting ideas for them and I figured you would be the one to model because…you're…you're beautiful."

His face went bright red again and he suddenly became very interested in one particular square of light green satin. Marinette could feel her own cheeks go pink as she struggled to come up with a response. She couldn't believe he thought she was beautiful, she had never seen herself that way, and suddenly she felt like her stomach had twisted. This was strange, she thought, she never usually got so giddy about compliments…

"Urm…so which one of these is your favourite?" She asked him suddenly, stepping closer to him and passing the sketchbook back.

"Err…" Nathanaël stammered as he fumbled with the pages, nearly dropping the book several times before he opened it to one page. "This one." He said finally, pointing to it with a shaky finger. "That's the one I could really see you in…" He peered over at her face and realised she was looking over his shoulder. She was so close, he could see the individual freckles dotted on her cheekbones and the sight made him tongue-tied. "Wha-what do y-you think?"

"Hmm," She said, herself realising the close proximity she had with him and she hurriedly took the book from him and studied it. "I like it a lot but I would change that strap…and that bit there…do you want to see mine?" She smiled back at him and he nodded eagerly. She flicked back a few pages and came to a stop with her finger determinedly on a drawing. "This was one I really adored. I was thinking, if we combined that with that and then used this instead of this…"

She went on excitedly as Nathanaël scrabbled for a clean piece of paper and his pencil. They didn't notice when more of their classmates started to arrive as they worked on this final design, the joint masterpiece that they shared that was slowly coming to life on the paper. People were giving them odd looks when they saw the growing excitement that both of them were revelling in but they were both too engrossed in the work to care. When he finally finished it, adding the last pencil stroke with a smile, Nathanaël took a step back to admire it whilst Marinette turned around and leapt at the board.

"I have the perfect two materials for this!" She squealed eagerly, her legs jumping about like she was dancing a jig as she grabbed two squares from the board and dashed back to the desk. "We can have this one for the bodice and overskirt and this for the underskirt! It's perfect!"

"Oh my god, it is! We've got it!" Nathanaël cried out as Marinette bounced up and down next to him. "This is going to be the best ball gown ever!"

"I know!" She squealed delightedly in response and suddenly he felt her arms around him as she tugged him into a joyful hug. For a moment he froze, his mouth gibbering with no noise coming out as his brain felt like it had shut down. He could feel her soft cheek pressing against his and one of her pigtails was against his neck, her scent of cookies and floral shampoo fuddling his head further. He felt his arms go around her, almost like he was on automatic, and he squeezed her back, so tightly he felt her feet leave the ground. She laughed and he started laughing too as he whirled her around and she clung to him tighter as they span like a pair of spinning tops, still laughing.

"Nathanaël, I'm getting dizzy!" Marinette laughed in protest as the classroom twirled around her in a spiral of colours that was making her vision go blurry. She felt him come to a stop but she still gripped him, her knees buckling a little as the world tipped sideways.

"Are you alright?" She heard him ask her worriedly as his arms kept her upright in a tight warm embrace. It felt very nice being held by him and even when her dizziness started to wane, she didn't let go. What was she doing? She thought when she realised how close she was and how this must look. She was cuddling him! Why was she feeling like this, she didn't have a crush on him, she had a crush on Adrien…

It was that moment when she looked up and saw Adrien was standing in the doorway. His hand was still on the handle as he stared at them and his eyes felt like lasers as he took in the scene. Suddenly, she was all too aware of how Nathanaël's arms were wound around her and she hurriedly let go of him as he reluctantly did the same. "Hi Adrien!" She called over with a wave, feeling a sheepish smile cross her face.

Meanwhile Adrien still hadn't moved from the door, his hand feeling stuck like glue to the handle as he struggled to process what he had just seen. Had he really just been hugging her? And spinning her around too? They hadn't even been partnered for a day yet! He saw the almost dazed happy look that was on the redhead's face and he felt a sudden compulsion to punch it. Why are you being so possessive? A little voice that sounded suspiciously like Plagg popped up inside his head. It's not like she's your girlfriend or anything. He then suddenly realised that he was gripping the handle so tightly, his hand was shaking, and Marinette was staring at him. He abruptly let go and shot a smile at her, making her cheeks go pink. Remember, you're Chat Noir, the voice said again, show the little ginger snap who's the real deal here.

"Hey Marinette," He said smoothly as he made his way to the seat right in front of Nathanaël's desk. He lounged back in it like it was his natural place as he turned to face the pair of them and his hand absent-mindedly went for a pencil to twirl between his fingers like he would his baton. "You seem in a very good mood this morning. Did you have a good sleep?"

"Err…yes, yes I did." Marinette answered and she smiled again as she thought of Chat Noir. Imagine what Adrien would say if I told him a superhero was in my room last night, she thought with a giggle, he would never believe me. Adrien caught the tiny smile and heard the giggle and they both made his heart swell. She really did like Chat. "This whole project makes me feel so happy, we also just got our final design sorted, it's going to be so much fun to make!"

"Cool! Can I see it?" He leaned over a little to try and see the paper on the desk but Marinette quickly snatched it up whilst shaking her finger at him playfully.

"Not so fast! We wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, would we Nathanaël? We want you to be truly amazed when you see it!"

"Exactly!" Nathanaël answered and Adrien was struck at how suddenly confident he was around Marinette. Usually he was so quiet, you wouldn't notice he was there but now he was staring him down with his own grin on his face and, to his disgust, a look of truimph. "And besides, we can't give away all our secrets to our main competition. As the only team with a professional model as one of the members, you are our main competition. Right Mari?"

Mari?! Adrien almost wanted to shout out but he stopped when he saw how she giggled at him like he had said the most hilarious thing in the world. Why was she so comfortable with him and not with me? He thought. Granted, she was just acting more confidently just now…was that a good thing or a bad thing? He felt so upside down and confused he didn't know what to think. All he knew was, he was liking this pairing less and less as the project went on.

"Hi guys!" A voice from behind him suddenly called and he was relieved to see Alya walk in. She looked over to see the three of them were talking and she grinned when she noticed how closely Nathanaël and Marinette were standing and how irritated Adrien looked. She hadn't had a chance to speak to her friend yesterday as she had dashed out of school so quickly and when she looked over at the back of the room, she could see why. "My God Marinette, is that what you were working on yesterday?"

"Yeah it is. Isn't it great?" Nathanaël suddenly said and Alya's eyes went wide when he answered. "She's so amazing at this, she could do this whole project with her hands behind her back."

He was answering for her now?! The little short tomato head! Adrien seriously wanted to punch him now and he could feel his hand twitching into claws like it did when he was Chat Noir. He watched as Marinette giggled again and prodded him in the side and a small growl escaped his throat. Alya turned to him with a strange expression on her face, like she was studying him, and he covered it up quickly with a cough but she didn't look convinced.

"They've already completed their final design," He said, hoping that would distract her. "But they won't let me look at it. Apparently, we're their 'main competition.'"

He marked the apostrophes in the air with his fingers and an evil grin spread across Alya's face. "Oh so that's how you want to play this, huh?" She said, turning back to Marinette as she planted her hands firmly on her hips. "Well then, you're on!"

"Oh yeah?" Marinette grinned back as she played along and something in Adrien's chest twanged as she changed her stance, crossing her arms and jutting out one hip. "Bring it!"

"You bet we will! C'mon Adrien!" Alya suddenly grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him back to their seats. "We have to beat them now!"

"Aren't you taking this a little seriously?" He asked her in a worried tone but he stopped when he saw she was trying not to burst out laughing.

"Don't worry, she knows I don't mean it." She explained more quietly. "We do this all the time. She may look sweet but she can get really competitive when she wants and when she's determined, she's scary."

"Yeah." He answered, thinking of the concentration he had seen in her face the night before. "Seems Marinette is full of surprises."

That comment took Alya back and she gripped the desk to steady herself. Did he really just say that? She thought. She remembered the murderous glance he had given Nathanaël when he had answered for her and her mouth nearly dropped open.

"Adrien…" She went to ask him but before she could, the door swung open and slammed into the wall, nearly making a dent in the plaster. Chloe then stomped in, her expression furious, and she was followed grudgingly by Alix whose blue eyes were blazing angrily into the back of the blonde's head. If looks could kill, Chloe would have been dead ten times over and the class gulped as the pair entered the room like storm clouds.

"I can't believe the headmaster is forcing me to work with you!" Chloe snapped as she reached her desk and spun round to face her partner, stamping her foot hard on the ground like a toddler about to throw a tantrum. "This is an injustice and it's against my human rights!"

Alix gave a loud huff. "Hey I'm not happy about this either, believe me you're the last person I wanted to be paired with, but we have to come up with something. We can't just refuse to do it, that will impact our grades!"

"Watch me! I'm not working with you!" Chloe sniffed as she turned her back on her. "I don't have to do a thing!"

Alix looked helplessly up at the rest of the class as they all looked on, their sympathies entirely with her. Her eyes lingered on Kim longingly and they both seemed to shrug in unison before she looked over at Adrien and an idea came to her. With a small sly smile, she turned back to Chloe and said "Well that's a shame, you know a lot of influential people are going to be there, including Gabriel Agreste." Chloe's back stiffened at the name and Alix happily continued, her smile wider. "I mean, it wouldn't look good in front of him if we don't submit something and he already doesn't have a favourable opinion of you after the whole derby hat incident… This could have been your chance to redeem yourself in his eyes but if you don't want to…"

"Wait!" Chloe shrieked as she turned back around. "Fine! I'll work with you but there are going to have to be some rules here!"

"Same here." Alix shot back. "I'm not going to do all the work for you like your friend over there would." She jabbed a thumb at an indignant looking Sabrina, who stuck her nose up but everyone ignored it. "Do I look like a slave to you?"

"No, you look like an insignificant little loser if you ask me." Chloe said haughtily as she whipped her head to the side.

There was a moment of shocked silence as the eyes of the whole class stared at the small pink-haired girl, waiting to see what her reaction would be. "Say that one more time," Alix glared at her with fury across her face as she rolled up her sleeves. "I dare you."

"I said," Chloe whipped her head back and put her hands on her hips. "That you are an insignificant little-argh!"

She screamed as Alix lunged for her, scampering behind her desk as the girl came flying through the air faster than a bullet. It was only the quick intervention of Kim that saved her, as he grabbed Alix around her waist and started dragging her away as she flailed in his arms.

"Let me at her!" Alix yelled as she tried to wriggle free of Kim's strong grip but he wasn't yielding. "Nobody calls me little, nobody!"

"Calm down Alix, she's not worth it…" Kim tried to calm her down but it didn't seem to be working as she continued to kick and scream whilst Chloe cowered behind her desk. Marinette watched the scene transfixed. It was like watching a giant car crash and she couldn't look away. She was only snapped out of it by Nathanaël's voice whispering in her ear.

"Maybe we should find another classroom to work in. Madame Bustier said we could…"

"Yes, that sounds like a good idea." She answered as she began to gather up her things, thinking it would be best to leave the board where it was and pick it up later. "Let's go."

Everyone was so focused on the drama in front of them that only Adrien and Alya noticed the pair of them quietly leaving. And out of those two, only Adrien noticed that when Nathanaël led Marinette out of the classroom, he did so with his hand on the small of her back.

 _I didn't realise this at first but I'm really enjoying coming up with Adrien's red-themed insults... anyone else? Anyway, please leave a review and I hope you like this story so far!_


	4. Chapter 4

It didn't take long for Nathanaël and Marinette to find the perfect classroom to work on their project. It was one of the smaller ones usually used by the upper years as it only had room for around ten desks but it doubled as an art room so it was well-supplied, was well-lit by three long windows at the end of the room and it was tucked away in the corner of the school so it was very unlikely that another pair would stumble across it and claim it as their own. They pushed some of the desks back to make the room more spacious before Marinette looked around and gave a happy nod.

"This is going to work brilliantly," She said delightedly, clapping her hands together with excitement and missing the fond smile Nathanaël gave at the sight of her so pleased. "Now we can properly get started."

"OK, what should we do first?" He asked her and she was suddenly very aware of the intensity of his turquoise eyes on her. "You're the one who knows your way around this kind of thing so I'll do whatever you say."

"Oh. OK." Pink spread across her cheeks as she tried to think of what they could do whilst trying to ignore the strange feeling she got when she looked round at those eyes boring into her. "Urm… well we don't have any of the material here so we can't start on that… what we can do though is start to organise what pattern pieces we need and cut them out of some paper…"

"Great. Would the paper here do?" Nathanaël questioned as he looked under the desk for supplies and drew out a roll of brown thin tissue paper.

"That's perfect, it needs to be thin and light to pin it." She affirmed with a thumbs up and he smiled as he rolled it out on the ground. She knelt down beside him to smooth it out and as she did so, she patted him on the back. "Good find Nathanaël."

"T-thanks." He answered quietly with his head to the floor to hide his blush, the combination of both the compliment and her touch too much for him to take. She looked down at how suddenly flustered he was, his fingers accidentally creasing the paper, and that strange feeling came back, only stronger. It was like her chest suddenly went tighter and made her lungs forget to work but she shrugged it off and focused her mind on the task ahead, picking up their final drawing and examining it closely.

"OK, so we are going to need a piece like this and another one shaped like this…" She started muttering to herself as she got another square of white paper from Nathanaël's notebook and started to pencil out the shapes. "Then that will easily make the skirt but we'll need a different one for the ruffling…"

"Do you know what size these have to be?" Nathanaël suddenly asked and that stopped Marinette in her tracks.

"W-what?"

"Well, we have to make it to your exact measurements, the judges will mark us down if it is too baggy or doesn't fit in places." Nathanaël sensibly pointed out as she looked around at him stricken. "Do you know what your measurements are?"

"Not my exact ones." She burbled, nearly dropping her pencil. The thought had never even occurred to her and she felt shocked that she hadn't figured that out first. Usually when she made clothes for herself and her family, she would just make the garment roughly to the clothes sizes marked out on the pattern before altering it to fit their exact form, meaning she didn't measure people exactly. She knew it was an erratic way of doing it but that was the way she had always done it and she hadn't even considered that she would have to do it differently for a project like this.

"That's OK, we can just do it now." Nathanaël reassured her. He saw how panicked she looked and he put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, there's no need to stress about it, everybody gets worried and forgets things sometimes. It's just something that happens."

"Yeah, I suppose." She said and she could feel her smile returning as she looked back at him. Somehow, he had a way of calming her down with his soft soothing presence and it felt like a breath of fresh air from her usual moods that swung between anxiety around Adrien and her feelings in battle as Ladybug. He went back to the desk to search for a tape measure and when he found one there among the chaos in a messy drawer, she stood up ready to be measured.

"Thanks Nathanaël." She said gratefully, smiling at him as she took the tape and then promptly dropped it. She watched it unravel all over the ground with a little groan as she smacked her face with her palm. Why am I so clumsy? She thought as she hurriedly tried to gather it all up, the tape acting like a wriggling snake that fell from her arms as soon as she picked it up. She then went to stand up again and whacked her head into Nathanaël's as he bent down to try and help her, making him reel backwards and her crash back to the floor, draped in the tape measure. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I'm such a klutz, I didn't mean-"

"It's fine Marinette," He chuckled at her apologetic rambling as he got back up and held out his hand. She took it and he hauled her upright, overestimating how much strength he would need to pull her up, overbalancing her so she tipped into him. They both went red again and she froze but he was quick to steady her and then he dived down to the floor to retrieve the tape measure. His arms had been around her for barely a minute but that was all it had taken for that nice warm feeling to spread over her again, like it had back in the classroom. What is happening to me? I shouldn't be this clumsy around him, she thought, her chest tightening again in that repeated strange way, as he got back to his feet with the tape measure in his hands.

"How about I do it?" He asked before he went red again. "Not that you can't do it but it might be easier with another person doing it and-"

"I totally agree," She said quickly. "We don't want to waste any more time on this."

"Sure," He responded with an easy smile and a nod. "I'll write down a list of what measurements we need…"

It started off casually with him measuring her arms and legs and writing down the measurements in both inches and centimetres just in case. Then the tape moved to her hips, then her waist and the air in the room seemed to thicken so Marinette felt like she was breathing in pea soup and her breaths got quicker and deeper as she realised he was getting more flustered too, several times nearly dropping the tape measure and having to catch it in his slightly shaky fingers. He then stood up so his head was level with hers again and when he spoke, his stammer had returned even worse than before.

"I-I'm…I-I mean…w-we n-need to m-measure your-r b-b-b…" He eventually motioned to his chest to indicate her bust line and she felt her face burning crimson.

"O-OK." She said, signalling for him to get it done quickly and bending her head to try and make it less awkward. He promptly wrapped it once around her before tightening it, almost like he was catching her in a lasso. His fingers were trembling and she felt like her stomach was flipping inside her. She could see his hands through the thin veil of her loose fringe as he fumbled with the tape and she realised she had never paid much attention to them even though they were the tools of his craft. They were real artist's hands, she could see the smudges of pencil on them and spots of black under the nails that could have been from various different projects, and his fingers were long thin and had a certain elegance to them, moving almost like they were dancing. They must look like that when he draws, she thought and the image of him sitting quietly somewhere drawing made her smile.

"Marinette?"

"Hmm?" Almost dreamily, she raised her head before she realised just what a mistake that was. Nathanaël's face was almost directly in front of hers, his side fringe tucked behind his ear so his whole face was clear, like he had just removed a mask. His eyes were looking into hers and until now she had never noticed the deepness of their colour, the light blue that shimmered like the water trapped in rock pools on sandy beaches. She could hear the sound of his breath catching in his throat and hers felt stuck as well. For a second, his pale lips parted and she wondered in panic if he was going to kiss her. Would that be a good thing or a bad thing? Would she like that? Did she want him to? Her mind raced with all these buzzing confusing thoughts and, almost as if he sensed her hesitation, he stepped back and turned away slightly to pick up his pencil. She heard him murmuring the number as he wrote it down and when he faced her again they were both more composed.

"I was just going to say… the lunch bell just went off, do you want to go and eat?"

The bell? How had she not heard it? Had she been in that much of a trance? How had the morning slipped by so quickly? "That would be great, I've really worked up a hunger." She smiled at him and he returned it, the awkwardness forgotten.

"Yeah so have I, this designing stuff is hard work." He jokingly wiped his forehead and he looked delighted when she laughed. They gathered up their bags and walked out of the room, Nathanaël resting his hand on her back again like it was the most natural thing in the world and, even though she realised it this time, she didn't ask him to move it.

"Believe me bro, this suit is gonna be sweet!" Nino crowed as Adrien and Alya sighed and shook their heads a little. They had just found a bench to sit at for lunch and so far, Nino had not stopped talking about the project. He was chattering away like a hyper parrot and Adrien had zoned out for most of it as he picked at his lunch, which consisted of a low-fat tuna salad. Though he was glad Nino wasn't having any problems with Sabrina, who he had said was actually quite nice once you got her away from Chloe's influence, he had just spent the morning working on his own with Alya, who was proving a hard taskmaster, and he wasn't really in the mood to talk about more of the work. "We've had the best idea for a theme and once we get the right vibe…"

"Vibe?" Alya laughed as he stopped talking for the first time since the bell rang. "It's a suit not your DJing! There's a difference!"

"Is there really? I mean, both are creating works of art…" He grinned at her as she rolled her eyes.

"Please, don't get all philosophical on me," She sighed before something caught her eye and she stared at the other side of the playground. "Hey there's Marinette!"

"Where?" Adrien suddenly shot his head up, causing Alya and Nino to exchange surprised looks before both of them gave small knowing smiles. "Is she…with Nathanaël?"

"It sure looks like it bro," Nino replied as the three of them watched the pair make their own way to another bench. They were deep in conversation and Adrien could hear her laughing from there. He then realised the redhead's hand was on her back again and that made him clench his teeth hard to stop a hiss escaping. "It looks like they're pretty cosy too."

"I'd say," Alya responded, the pair of them both almost ecstatic at the sight of Adrien's badly-disguised anger. "You know, I heard Rose saying that she totally ships the two of them now. They're going to be the new class couple before you know it."

"What?!" Adrien spun around from where he had been glaring at the two students across the playground and his expression was of horror. "New class couple? Who were the old ones?"

"Take a guess dude." Nino said. How could he not realise, the entire class knew she was crushing on him and had been shipping the pair of them since almost the beginning of the year, he thought with an inner sigh at his oblivious friend. Honestly, he wouldn't see it if it hit him in the face.

Adrien looked confused as he thought for a minute. "You two?" He finally answered whilst pointing at them both. Their eyes each went wide and they gave a little side glance to each other before both blushing.

"N-no dude!" Nino quickly tried to think of a way to cover up the sudden embarrassment before he saw the perfect opportunity as Adrien's focus went back on Nathanaël and Marinette. "Why do you care anyway? You don't have a crush on her, do you?" He stressed the last two words with an eyebrow wriggle worthy of Chat Noir and Adrien's face flushed pink.

"What? No! No, of course not! Why would I have a crush on Marinette, I'm just worried about her as a friend that's all, gosh guys, stop jumping to conclusions!" He gabbled out in a rush as Alya and Nino exchanged looks again, not even bothering to hide them this time. "It's not like that, really, I'm not jealous!"

"Who said you were jealous Adrien?" Alya asked smartly and the blonde had no answer. Instead he kept his face, which was now bright vermillion red, down and looking at his salad whilst the other two beamed at each other. He heard another loud laugh and he looked over to see Nathanaël was escorting Marinette back to where they had just been working, both of them laughing. His hand was still on her back and he suddenly realised he was gripping his fork too hard. He opened his palm and muttered crossly when he saw the long red mark left there. There was only one thing for it, he thought, Chat Noir was going to be making another visit that night.

"So princess," Chat Noir smiled down at her, his green eyes glinting in the lamplight as he watched her work. "I take it this project is going rather well?"

Marinette lifted her head up from where she was crouching on the floor to give him a look, her fringe falling over her eyes so she had to look at him through a veil of black hair. With a huff, she blew it away and glared when she saw how he was giving her an amused grin. She was currently on her hands and knees, a sea of fabric stretched out around her as she attempted to pin the pattern pieces her and Nathanaël had made earlier down on it whilst Chat Noir was lounging on her chaise longue, his lean body lying relaxed on the cushions like he belonged there. He had turned up not long ago and had insisted on staying, much to her annoyance. It wasn't just the fact that she had a lot of work to do and he was incredibly distracting, though that was a major factor, it was because she couldn't quite look him in the eye after what had happened last night. Thinking about how he had to have tucked her in like she was a child made her stomach feel like it was doing jumping jacks for some reason and she would have preferred not to dwell on why.

"It's going very well thank you," She said tartly, frowning down at the pieces of brown tissue paper that were refusing to stay put. It was like trying to pin down a cloud; every time she tried to smooth one bit down, another wispy bit would wrinkle and fly away. "Nathanaël and I have already got a design sorted and now we just have to make it."

"Really? That's claw-some." He replied, ignoring her groan at the pun. "Nathanaël tried to kidnap you for a cruise down the Seine yet?"

"Chat!" Marinette snapped at him. "Nathanaël has been a gentleman the entire time, he's been nothing but kind to me." She then quickly but her head back down, a blush appearing when she remembered the measuring incident. She didn't want Chat to find out about that, mainly because she was terrified that if he knew, he would go storming over there and heaven knows what would happen if he did that.

She didn't see the flicker of annoyance that passed over his face when she said that. Adrien couldn't stop thinking about his hand on her back and that made him want to sharpen his claws. How can she call him a gentleman, that's my thing! He thought crossly, only shaken back into the room when he realised she was talking to him again.

"Chat, do you mind lending me a hand? I can't get this damn stuff to stay put…"

"No trouble at all, a knight will always help a damsel in distress," He said, springing up from the chaise longue to lightly jump onto the floor. "What do you need me to do?"

"Just hold this down here with this hand and put your other hand there," Marinette started to command him and he obediently followed her lead. "And keep them as still as possible, I don't want this to crease."

"No purr-oblem." He answered, feeling very pleased with that pun but Marinette was too busy concentrating to respond. He focused on keeping his arms as still as possible, calmly watching her as she pinned down the paper, her dainty fingers skimming across it light as feathers. It was only then when he realised how close he was to her; their hands were so close their arms were nearly touching, meaning occasionally her skin would brush against the leather of his suit and making his hair stand on end. Their heads were practically occupying the same space and when she ducked his head under his to reach a far-away corner, he could smell the scent of her shampoo. She smelt like vanilla and some sort of flower and it was an intoxicating blend when mixed with her own scent of cookies. He found his eyes moving from her fingers to her hair and he was transfixed by the sight. He never realised how lovely her hair was; the colour was a deep black like the night sky that almost seemed to be tinted blue under some lights in an effect that was bewitching. Even in her pigtails, he could see the soft waves that spilled over her shoulders, contrasting perfectly with the twirls of silky ribbon she had tied it up with. His fingers were itching to touch it but he didn't dare move, not wanting to bring her wrath raining down on him. Instead, his head started tipping forwards, like he was falling asleep and suddenly, his nose was touching her scalp. He knew he shouldn't be doing this, everything about it felt wrong, but his cat instincts seemed to take over at the feel of something soft and a deep purr ripped through his throat as he started to nuzzle her hair, revelling in the feel and smell of it. He felt her freeze in place and his brain was screaming at him to stop but not he had started, he just couldn't stop.

"Chat?"

Her soft voice and the motion of her head moving made him pull back in shock, a feeling of dread seeping through him like icy water. What had he just done? He thought in panic as he was suddenly confronted with her wide azure eyes. He expected them to be angry but all he could register in them was surprise as she stared up into his own eyes, her lips still slightly parted from where she had whispered his name. She was so close now the tips of their noses were barely an inch apart. His vision was taken up by her face as time ground to a standstill. He glanced down at her lips and immediately regretted it; every part of his body was desperate to lean forwards and kiss her and he knew he would if he wasn't careful. He drew back sharply, nearly tripping over his own tail and kicking the fabric away in his haste to get to the window.

"I should go." He gabbled out quickly, his hands shaking as they fumbled with the latch. "I don't want to interrupt…"

"Chat, wait-" He heard her call out but he had already opened the window and sped out into the night. His paws thudded along the rooftops in time with his racing heart as he ran to put as much distance between him and what had just happened. He felt mortified-he had just sniffed her hair, that's what creepy guys do-yet at the same time he felt like a firework had gone off inside him and was fizzing through his veins. What was going on with him? He thought and he groaned when the answer hit him like a freight train. He stopped on the corner of a random roof and raked his fingers through his hair in anguish at the giant mess he just realised he was in. I am jealous, he thought, I'm so jealous of Nathanaël... because I've fallen for Marinette. God, I've fallen hard.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, Marinette walked to school in a daze. Her blue eyes were misty as she went through the gates, the people milling past her shouting going unnoticed as she was oblivious to the world. Her head felt like it was full of cloud; every time she tried to think of something else, like the pattern pieces and cut out fabric she had in her bag or if the rest of the class were as ahead in the project as her and Nathanaël, her mind would indulge her for only a few seconds before it would stray back to last night with Chat Noir and her insides would feel like they were bubbling.

She still wasn't quite sure what had happened; one minute she had been happily focused on the fabric laid out around her and had been using Chat as a weight to keep it from moving, the next she had felt his head rub against hers in the same way a cat did when it wanted affection. He had purred too, a deep throbbing sound that had seemed to match the pattern of her own heartbeat as he had continued. She had lifted her head to ask him what he was doing, and probably tell him to stop being so distracting, but then she had looked up into his green eyes, coloured like a spring meadow with slashes of jet for pupils, and the words had frozen in her throat. His gaze had rendered her motionless and even after he had bolted from her window, it had been a long few minutes before she had felt able to get up and close it. She had finished cutting out the pieces but her body had felt like it was on autopilot and she had nearly made a mistake several times, the rotary cutter running away with her as she struggled to focus. She had asked Tikki, her kwami, what had happened as well but the little red fairy was just as clueless as her. She reached the classroom and made for her seat, sitting down and putting her head on the desk, burying herself in her arms with a moan as she tried to make sense of it all.

What had Chat Noir made of it? She mulled. She could picture his face clear as day, the memory all too eager to surface, but his expression had been unreadable. He had been so desperate to leave but there had been one moment where she had looked at his open lips and been sure he was going to kiss her. Her cheeks flamed as she thought of how his lips would have felt on hers and she wanted to scream. First Nathanaël, now this with Chat Noir… Why was she suddenly aware of these other guys like this when before it had only been Adrien? Was she still so aware of Adrien? She didn't know, her emotions felt too muddled and she couldn't untangle them. She groaned out loud, her frustration echoing through the desk. Why was this so confusing? All she wanted to do was curl up and sleep until this was all over and her brain was back to normal.

"Marinette?"

A gentle hand touched her shoulder and her head shot up like a meerkats, her eyes looking around wildly like she was under attack. She then turned her head to see Nathanaël was standing there, looking at her concerned with his hand held up from where he had snatched it back in surprise. She could feel his eyes searching hers and guilt washed over her. She didn't know why, it wasn't like she was doing anything wrong, but thinking of Chat Noir and having Nathanaël standing in front of her was overwhelming and she could feel her face burning again. I do this so often, anyone would think I'm permanently the colour of a lobster, she thought as she managed a weak smile.

"Hey Nathanaël. Sorry about that, I'm just a little on edge."

"Are you alright?" He asked her and the kind worried tone of his voice made her feel even worse. "I came in and you looked asleep."

"I'm fine!" She quickly said, a little too loudly. "I'm just tired, that's all. I spent the night cutting out the pieces we need and I just lost track of time."

"Oh Marinette, you didn't need to do that," Nathanaël said, lowering his hand and reaching it across the desk to squeeze hers gently. The touch was surprisingly reassuring and she could already feel the guilt melting away. "We have plenty of time and I don't want you doing all of the work."

"Don't worry, I was happy to," She answered, feeling herself smile at him. "And I wouldn't let you get away with that anyway."

He smiled playfully back in response. "Neither would I." He responded and his fingers on hers felt like a brand. He turned her hand over and ran his thumb along her fingertips, sending a shiver down her arm. "I wouldn't want you working your fingers to the bone."

She could feel herself blushing as he looked at her and she opened her mouth to speak but she stopped as Alya walked in, closely followed by Adrien.

"Hey Marinette! Aren't you the early bird today? I can't believe you've been early so much these past few days!" Alya greeted her cheerfully but stopped dead in front of her desk when she registered how Nathanaël was holding her hand and the gesture suddenly felt very intimate. Marinette was tempted to jerk her hand away but in her embarrassment, she wasn't sure she could move without toppling from her chair completely and so she froze in place, her heart thudding inside her chest like an army drum.

Meanwhile, Adrien had also noticed and he had also halted in front of the classroom as he stared at them. He was still reeling from his revelation from last night and he still wasn't sure he had recovered. He had gotten home after running from her room and spent the rest of the night tossing and turning in bed, feeling completely torn. He still loved Ladybug, he adored her with all his heart, but there was something about Marinette that made him feel giddy inside and all he wanted to do was be in her presence. His new-found feelings for her were sitting in his stomach like a cannonball and as he looked at her, he wondered how he had never realised it before. Looking at her now, he wondered how her delicate beauty had passed him by, her creamy skin with its dusting of freckles, her wide blue eyes, her perfect pink mouth… how he had resisted kissing her the night before he didn't know. Now he was wishing he had and wishing that the tomato-faced boy in front of him would get his hands off of her.

Alya looked between Adrien, who was staring fixatedly on Nathanaël's hand like he wanted it to burst into flames, and Marinette who was slowly growing more crimson as Nathanaël hung on. "Err… are we interrupting something?"

"What?!" That was the trigger Marinette needed to wrench her hand away and Adrien breathed a silent sigh of relief. "No, no, not at all! Nathanaël was just telling me I shouldn't be working so hard, that's all!"

"Oh right. That's good." Adrien suddenly spoke up and they all turned to look at him. "I thought maybe you had hurt your hand."

"Oh no!" Marinette forced a laugh as a response. "There's nothing to worry about. It's fine, see?" She held it up and turned it in the air, showing every inch of the flawlessly creamy skin.

Adrien hummed like he wasn't convinced. "Let me have a closer look." Suddenly he had leaned over the desk and taken it, turning it over in his own hands as he inspected it closely, his head bent over it. He could faintly smell the perfume she had on, along with the aroma of the bakery, and that coupled with the softness of her skin on his was divine.

Marinette was on the verge of a meltdown. She couldn't believe what was happening. Not only was Adrien Agreste holding her hand, his head was so close to it he looked about to brush her fingers with his lips. That was what Chat always did…damnit, I don't want to think about him now! Her mind was screaming at her as all she could do was stare. She could feel her heart pounding away in her ribcage like it was trying to break free and she was almost glad when he let her go as she didn't think she could cope with much more.

"Everything looks fine," Adrien said as he reluctantly released his grip on her hand. "Good thing too, we can't have you hurting yourself, can we?" He shot her a beaming smile and she felt a few seconds away from melting onto the floor. She managed a smile and a giggle back which made Adrien beam more and Nathanaël frown a little.

"Yeah that is good," He said slowly, watching Adrien closely as he stepped closer to Marinette's side. "Anyway Marinette, do you want to go and get started? We have quite a bit to do before the show."

"Oh right, yes, of course!" Marinette snapped back into reality as she tore her eyes away from Adrien and scrabbled to her feet. "Yes, we best get started! I'll see you two at break, yeah?"

"Alright." Alya answered, watching her friend walk around her with a faint expression of disbelief. She caught the small look that passed between the two guys as Nathanaël led her towards the door, both of them looking at the other warily like a lion and a tiger circling the same territory, and she smirked. Were both of them fighting over Marinette? She looked sideways at Adrien's cross face and clenched fists and she smiled at the determination there. She didn't care what Nathanaël did now; after seeing that, her money was on Adrien all the way.

It didn't take long for Marinette and Nathanaël to find their classroom and they got to work almost instantly. Marinette spread out the pieces of fabric she had on the floor, spacing them out so they looked like islands on a sea of polished floor, and they started working out which sections needed to be sewn together by what side. They worked whilst they chatted away to each other, Marinette again giving the instructions and Nathanaël following her lead, but the boy seemed quieter than he had been the day before and Marinette couldn't help but think that this was how it had been before they were partnered. He also seemed very distracted, moving like he was in a dream, and this only proved disastrous when she let him loose with a needle and thread. She turned her back for one minute to start sewing herself when she heard a yelp from behind that made her spin around with the reflexes of her alter-ego and she gasped when she saw what he had done. He had managed to ram the needle into the soft skin of his thumb and a drop of blood was pooling there. Seeing her panicked expression, he quickly threw the fabric he was holding across the room and held his hand up.

"I didn't get blood on it!" He blurted out nervously as she grabbed a handful of tissues from the desk and knelt by him, pressing them to the wound.

"I'm not worried about that," She assured him, seeing how crestfallen his face was. "It's just fabric, I have tons at home. I am worried about you though. Is something up?"

"No! Well…it's nothing really…" He answered her hesitantly, keeping his focus on his still bleeding hand that was slowly staining the white tissues red. "It's just… are you and Adrien…a thing?"

"What?!" He lifted his head abruptly at the shock in her voice as she stared at him, her mind spinning. "No… we…I…" She stuttered under his hopeful gaze, unsure of what she was going to say to him. No but I want to be? No I wanted to be but now I think I'm crushing on you too and maybe Chat Noir? No my head is a giant melting mess because you're all so different and I don't know what to do about it? She could feel her mouth moving without any sound coming out and she had to swallow before she could speak. "No, we're just friends!"

"Really?" He said, looking a little concerned. "He was being very protective of you just now."

"We're just friends." She repeated. That was the truth after all, no matter how much she had wished for more for the entire school year. "We look out for each other, that's all. He knows how clumsy I am, he doesn't want me to hurt myself. I would do the same for him too."

"Oh. That's great!" Nathanaël brightened up, a smile returning to his face before he looked even more nervous than he had before. "That's great because…well…I've wanted to ask you for a while now but I wasn't sure…about Adrien you know…"

"What did you want to ask me?" Marinette said slowly.

"Well…err…I just wanted to ask…after school tomorrow…wou-would you like to just…I don't know…hang out?" He asked shyly, his eyes peeping out at her from behind the safety of his fringe. "Like I was thinking…we could go for ice cream…if you'd like to…"

Was he asking her out on a date? Marinette thought with a ripple of panic. She felt like she was standing on the very tip of a diving board staring down at the water underneath her and she wasn't quite sure she wanted to take the plunge. What would happen if she did? Would it solve everything?

"Umm…sure. That sounds like fun!" She said, her voice wavering at first but then brightening as she spoke.

"Really?" The smile that lit up his face was enough to make her grin back and alleviate her reservations for a few moments. "That's great!"

"Yeah, it will be good." She smiled as she peeled back the tissues to look at his thumb. "Well, I think you'll live," She joked when she set eyes on it. "It's stopped bleeding now, just try not to stab yourself again, OK?"

"Sure." He replied, still grinning from ear to ear like he couldn't believe that she had agreed. "So, tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow." She affirmed. "Straight after school, right?"

"Right."

They went back to work, the atmosphere now a lot happier, but Marinette was now feeling a little funny. It wasn't like she was regretting agreeing to it, heck she didn't even know if it was a date and she did like him. Remembering what happened yesterday with the tape still gave her butterflies in her stomach but no matter how hard she tried, she could not shake off the small trickle of doubt that had mixed with them. The small trickle that was undoubtedly Adrien and Chat Noir shaped.

For the rest of the day, she kept thinking about it, the worry still there no matter how much she tried to banish it. To try and keep it at bay, she put all her energies into the project, working so hard on it that by the end of the day the ball gown was beginning to take shape and look more like Nathanaël's drawing. Even when she got home, she carried on working on it, not wanting to pause and be consumed with her thoughts, and she was still stitching it together when it grew dark outside, despite Tikki telling her over and over to go to bed. She only stopped later that night when she heard a thud on her balcony that was beginning to become familiar and heard the creak of the window opening.

"Good evening princess." She heard the smooth voice drawl behind her and she turned her head slightly to see him perched on her windowsill, waiting like the gentleman he was to be welcomed in. "Cinderella still working to get to the ball?"

Marinette laughed as she cocked her head to let him in. Although that had lessened any awkwardness over last night, she could feel a ball of tension form in her stomach at the sight of him. After she had agreed to hang out with Nathanaël she hadn't dared think of either him or Adrien and being faced with the real thing didn't help matters at all. She was again feeling guilty and the feeling only got worse as she watched Chat take up his position on the chaise longue to watch her.

"I sure could use the army of mice right now." She retorted and she heard him laugh with a smile. "Though you would probably chase them away."

"I wouldn't if you asked me not to," He said, his green eyes gazing at her like beacons. "A cat I may be but I always listen to you princess."

She felt her cheeks go hot and she quickly turned so she was facing her dressmaker's dummy, not wanting him to see how his words were affecting her. She tried to pin another section of fabric to the dummy but her fingers betrayed her and she dropped it, the pins rattling as they hit the floor. She heard him laugh again, a deep throaty chuckle that did nothing to help the state she was in and she had to focus extremely hard to get the pins back in place.

"So, I see the princess is coming along with her project then." She heard him say as he nimbly leapt from her chaise longue and prowled over to her, only straightening up when he was directly behind her. His closeness to her made her feel like electricity was coursing through her skin and it was only the when she felt suddenly shy that she was in her pyjamas, which now felt very flimsy. She watched as he slowly stepped around the dummy, his green eyes glowing like emeralds as they pored over every detail. Marinette couldn't have felt more self-conscious if he had been examining her and, by the way his half-lidded eyes kept flicking over to her, she wasn't completely sure she wasn't under scrutiny as well.

"It's very good." He gave his final verdict after a few minutes and she let out a little sigh of relief. "Really, you're going to look amazing in this."

"Oh so you're going to see me in it?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling at the idea. "How?"

"Let's just say this alley cat has his ways," He purred, edging over to her side. "Believe me, I'll have a front row seat. I could never miss an opportunity to see your beauty."

Marinette made a snort like she wasn't fooled by a word he said but her face went deep red and she was forced to look away. She didn't see how this made Chat Noir grin with sneaky delight and lean in closer.

"How about your partner princess? Everything still alright with him?" He asked. They were barely a step apart and it was taking all of his strength not to cross the short distance between them and take her in his arms. "Is he still being a gentleman?"

She looked around at the spite he put into the last word, like he was spitting out a mouthful of something disgusting, and she gave a short laugh. "He's been…fine kitty. You don't have to worry about me."

"I do worry though." He said, his tone more serious as he rose his hand to cup her cheek. His clawed thumb gently ran over her cheekbone and it sent a little shiver through her that made her softly lean into it. "I just don't want you to get hurt, that's all. But I guess I'm worrying over nothing." He gave a smile at the idea of gingerbread boy being a threat to him and he chuckled. "I mean, it's not like he's asked you out or anything, right?"

He waited for a moment, expecting to hear her laugh at the thought or get cross and insist they were just friends, but he was met with silence. He looked down to see Marinette's face had gone chalk white, like she was going to be sick, and she couldn't look him in the eye.

"Well…he…he asked if I wanted to h-hang out af-after school tomorrow for ice cream…"

"He did what?!" His other hand shot up to her other cheek as he tilted her head up to make her look at him. "What did you say to him? Is it a date?"

"I said yes. And…I don't think so."

"You don't think so?!" She had never heard him sound so outraged before; his eyes were screwed up in anger and she could hear hissing coming from his throat. He seemed to be scowling at nothing in particular and she had no doubt that if Nathanaël had been in the room, he would have been torn apart limb from limb. "How can you not know? Isn't it obvious he has the biggest crush on you ever? I'm not allowing you to be put in danger! Marinette, I forbid you to go!"

"You what?!" Now it was her turn to sound angry and he was taken aback by the ferocity in her voice. "What do you mean you forbid me? You're not my father, you can't tell me what to do!"

"Yes I can!" He insisted furiously. He could sense his temper was getting the better of him, he could feel it filling him up like boiling water but he couldn't stop the angry words spilling out nor did he want to. "I'm trying to keep you safe here! Do you really think it is wise to go on a fricking date with somebody who previously targeted you in their akuma form?"

"I've told you before, that was Hawkmoth, not him!" She shouted back, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. How dare he try and tell her what to do! How dare he, when he was part of the reason she was feeling so conflicted over this? "Get it through your thick head! You don't get to tell me what to do, not when you're making me feel so confused! You can't just do that to somebody!"

What was she talking about? Chat Noir froze when he felt her tears splash onto his gloves. He was still angry but she seemed to be in turmoil, lashing out with her words like they were whips. He had opened some sort of floodgate of emotions and now the tide was pouring out. "Mari, calm down, I'm sorry-"

"Don't you Mari me!" She spat out. All the confused emotions she had been bottling up and holding like a storm inside her were now coming out and all her fury was directed at him. "I'm going whether you like it or not and you don't get to control me! Go away!" She tore her face away from his hands and whipped away from him. "Get out of here, I don't want to see you or your stupid flirting and nicknames here!"

"Princess, I-"

"GO!"

She didn't turn around and there was silence as the room filled with the suffocating emotions that still hadn't been said. After a moment, she heard the sound of her window creaking open then shut as he left as discreetly as possible, his eyes looking wistfully at the back of her head as he left. It was only after he left when Marinette ran up to her bed and buried her face in the covers, bursting into tears as she tried to smoother her sobs. Tikki flew out of her purse and tried to comfort her but nothing could stop her crying and she eventually went to sleep with her body curled up in a foetal position and dried tears still on her cheeks.


	6. Chapter 6

Adrien Agreste was a mess. Everyone could see it in his face the following morning; his eyes were puffed up like choux pastry, his hair was sticking up in untameable golden spikes and he had had to down almost an entire jug of water before he could speak properly again, his voice when he woke up being just a dry croak. He had felt Nathalie and the Gorilla's concerned eyes on him all morning as he had eaten breakfast and prepared for school but he had been careful not to hint at there being anything amiss-he couldn't have coped with any probing questions about his appearance. He had displayed his usual perfect behaviour right up until he was hidden safely in the back of his limousine. The distance between him and the driver had never been more welcome to him. It was only then when he let himself fall apart at the seams, Plagg looking up at him sympathetically from his school bag as he stared out of the window.

He had spent all night hating himself for what he had done. He had run home in a record speed, the enormity of his actions hitting him on the way and when he had reached the safety of his bedroom, he had been so upset he hadn't even bothered to transform before flinging himself on his bed and crying his sore heart out onto his pillows, using them to muffle his crying and avoid waking up the house. He had only realised he was still Chat Noir once his claws had torn four long scratches in one of his pillows. Plagg hadn't been too happy about that but once he had seen the state the boy was in, he didn't have the heart to scold him and hadn't even moaned for cheese until early morning. Now he was dreading having to face her in school. What could he possibly say, knowing he had made that spectacle last night and made her that angry? Even though she didn't know it was him, he still felt terrible about it, like the minute he walked in a sign would appear over his head declaring to the world that he was the guilty party. He groaned a little as he pressed his forehead against the cool glass of the window. He had made a fool of himself, letting his jealousy run wild like that. He has always had a temper, his father brought it up frequently enough, but it had never got out of hand like that before. He was really living up to the legacy of his eyes, he thought as he caught a glimpse of their emerald reflection in the window. That was the last thing he wanted to do, become a monster and drive her away.

He found himself walking through the school gates earlier than normal. The playground was only half full of straggling groups of students and he knew the classrooms would be close to empty. He headed straight for his own, hoping no one would already be there so he could gather himself up again and try to think of what he could say to her. However, when he got there, he peeked through the glass in the door and his heart sank to his knees. Marinette was already inside and she looked almost as bad as he had earlier. She was doodling something with a pencil and she had her head bowed but he could see that the rims of her eyes were pink like the inside of a seashell and the end of her nose was a raw red from where she kept sniffing and rubbing at it. Even her pigtails seemed to be hanging down limply like the corners of a frowning mouth and knowing that he was him that had made her that way felt like a sword in his gut. What should he do? Walk away and face her later? He was just about to turn away and make a break for the bathrooms before an idea hit him and made him smile just a little. Chat Noir may not be here to redeem himself, he thought as he took the door handle firmly, but Adrien can certainly clean up his mess.

Taking a breath, he opened the door and walked into the classroom. "Hey Marinette!" He offered in greeting, holding up his hand in a wave. She started at the sound of his voice and dropped her pencil, staring at him in panic as it clattered onto the floor at her feet. She didn't even seem to register when he walked over and picked it up for her, she just stared at him with eyes that looked close to tears. I really must have upset her, he thought and that made him feel like he had just been run over by his limousine.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"Yes! Yes, I'm fine!" She squeaked, taking the pencil from him almost robotically. He didn't look convinced and she tried to smile but it faltered on her face and she gave up.

"Please don't lie to me Mari," She heard him say and when she looked up she saw he had his eyebrows raised in concern. "If there's something bothering you, you can just tell me. We're friends, right?"

She almost winced. That was too close to what she had said to Nathanaël the day before about him and she didn't want to be reminded of that conversation, not when she felt all churned up inside about whether they were going on a date or not. Chat had been insistent it was but she wasn't so sure. The only thing she was sure of right now was that she wasn't sure about anything and that it really sucked.

"Of course we are." She said and she felt her shoulders slump forwards in defeat. "OK I'm not that fine. In fact, I feel terrible. I didn't have a lot of sleep last night."

"Yeah me neither." Adrien admitted. "This project sure makes you stressed, doesn't it?"

She nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I guess Alya's making you work hard, huh?" She smiled at him for a brief second and he felt elated until it disappeared again. "It's not just that though. A lot of…stuff's happened recently and I don't know what to do about it. I'm just feeling so confused and torn and… I don't know what to do about it. It's making me an absolute mess but I can't do anything about it, you know?"

Confused…hadn't she said something about being confused last night when she was shouting at him? Something about him making her confused? He hadn't understood it at the time and he was still in the dark now. Had he done something really wrong as Chat Noir? He didn't think so, apart from last night. He was pulled from his thoughts when she gave a loud sniff and when he looked down at her, her eyes were watery and she was looking back down at her desk.

"Sorry about this." She quickly said when she noticed him staring, quickly wiping them away with the back of her hand. "You must think I'm crazy… saying all this random vague stuff and you don't want to hear me rambling on…"

"No, don't think that." She felt his warm hand on her shoulder and when she turned her head back to face him, his other hand went to dry her cheeks. His eyes were kindly as she looked at them and his voice was soft when he next spoke. "It's good to talk about things like this, it's better than holding them all in, believe me I know. I didn't confide in people much before I came here and now I have friends to talk to about things, it makes them easier to deal with. I won't pry if you don't want me to but I'm sure everything will work out in the end. You can come to me with anything Mari, anything at all and I promise I won't consider you crazy."

She laughed at that, a small smile emerging as some colour came back to her pale cheeks. "You really mean that Adrien?"

He half-rose his hand and nearly said 'Cat's honour', only just biting his tongue in time to stop himself. Instead he nodded but that was enough for Marinette's face to break into a big smile. Suddenly, she stood up and the next thing he knew, she had pulled him into a hug and her arms were squeezing him tightly like a vice.

"Thanks Adrien, I really needed to hear that." He heard her mumble at his shoulder and he felt like jumping up and down in glee. Instead, he put his arms around her comfortingly and dipped his head a little so he was at the level of hers.

"Any time." He whispered and as she hugged him closer, he rubbed one hand on the back of her shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring way. He closed his eyes to fully immerse himself in the moment, one he thought he had destroyed the chance of ever having. He could feel soft wisps of her hair on his nose like cloud and it was taking all his strength not to nuzzle its addictive softness again. Her cheek was against his and the smell of her was making his head go fuzzy all over again. He felt so happy he was having to bite the inside of his other cheek to stop himself purring and he could have held her like this forever if they hadn't heard the creak of the door opening.

Adrien opened his eyes and saw Nathanaël was standing there, his hair swept from his face and his forehead creased as he glared crossly at the scene in front of him. His lips had moulded together to form a thin stern line and he was holding his pencil in his tightly-clutched hand like he would be perfectly happy to throw it at the model's face. Adrien raised his head to match his stare but he didn't let go. Marinette, sensing something was up, lifted her head and turned around, still in Adrien's arms, and when she saw Nathanaël standing there, she shivered at the coldness that was blatant in his features.

"Err…hi Nathanaël," She said with a smile that felt tense at the awkwardness in the room but he didn't respond, still staring at Adrien with his eyes like frost. It was only then when she noticed the tension between the two boys and she flicked her head between them like she was watching a tennis match. "Is…err…is everything alright, you guys?"

"Fine."

"Fine."

They both answered within a second of each other, both speaking in the same deadpan voice with bitter angry undercurrents. They continue their staring contest, neither wanting to admit defeat in this battle. It was only when Marinette detached herself from Adrien's arms, not seeing the sad look that passed over his face like a ghost, and stepped sheepishly into the no man's land between them did they direct their attention away. None of the three had noticed but the rest of the class had begun to filter in and were whispering madly as they watched the silent confrontation. It looked almost like the pair were going to start a fencing match and they were already making silent bets on who would win.

"OK. That's good." Marinette said slowly, still looking at them both confused. The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife and she suddenly wanted to leave. It felt too suffocating, too much for her fragile mind to take in. "So are you ready to go?"

"What? Err, yes, yes I am. Ready. Let's go." Nathanaël answered when he finally realised it was him she was addressing. He turned his head to watch her gather her things, Adrien's flicker of a victory grin escaping his notice.

"Alright then." She smiled at the redhead as she headed for the door. "See you later Adrien!" She waved at him, her voice bubbly again, and he only pulled himself together long enough to wave back, taking great joy in how unhappy Nathanaël looked with the gesture.

"See you later Mari," He murmured to nobody in particular as the classroom set to work, the air filling with the hum of activity. It was also buzzing with what everybody had just witnessed but Adrien didn't even notice. "See you."

The rest of the morning passed without incident for Nathanaël and Marinette as they got on with the project. They both had to admit it was coming along nicely and she was surprised at how well it was turning out as not one mistake had been made in construction and she hadn't had to alter a thing. Everything was turning out perfectly, a little too perfectly for her liking. She didn't know if she was being superstitious or not but usually when something really good happened, something really bad would follow on its heels and that was really the last thing she wanted to happen right now.

At lunchtime she went home to get changed for her afternoon with Nathanaël. Though she wasn't sure if it was a date, she still felt like she should at least change from her regular t-shirt and pink capris, just to show she had at least put some effort in. She had spent over half an hour agonising over what to wear, dismissing most of her clothes as either 'too datey' or 'too casual.' Eventually Tikki had picked out a light yellow sundress for her, a project she had made the previous summer that had a V-neck, a nipped in waist and flared skirt and had been dyed a pretty shade of lemon. She matched it with a pair of strappy sandals and pondered changing her hairstyle but then decided against it. That would look like she'd made too much effort, she thought as she grabbed her purse with a relieved Tikki inside and hurried back to school, that really would make it a date.

When she walked back into the classroom, Nathanaël took one look at her and nearly sliced his own finger off with the rotary cutter she had reluctantly let him use. She had instantly swooped down and taken them from him, laughing at how he nearly fell forwards onto his face at the sudden movement she made.

"Careful Nat, I knew I shouldn't have let you have these!" She giggled as she shook them at him but she stopped when she saw the way he was staring at her. He had an expression of awe like a goddess had just walked into the room and he seemed to have lost all knowledge of how to speak French.

"H-h-hey Marinette," He finally said when he realised she was looking at him oddly. "Y-you look r-really n-n-nice."

"Oh, thank you." She smiled at him to show she meant it but that only seemed to make him worse. "I thought, since we were going to hang out, I should change it up a bit."

"I-I like i-it." He said before he looked back down at the ground with a face the colour of a fire engine. They carried on with their work, Marinette taking full control of any last cutting that needed to be done, and when the final bell rang she looked over their almost-completed dress with a happy grin.

"This looks great, doesn't it?" She beamed at Nathanaël as she held it up against her and twirl, the fabric rustling all around her as the skirt flew through the air.

"It does and it will look even better when it's done." He answered, staring admiringly at her as she carefully folded it up and stored it away. "So shall we go?"

Marinette nodded and the pair walked out of the classroom and down into the playground. As they reached the school's entrance and met with the crowds of moving students eager to get home, Nathanaël offered her his arm to stop them getting separated and she took it gratefully, wincing a little as they kept getting knocked together by the people around them. What she didn't see was Adrien and Alya leaving their classroom at the back of the crowd and stopping in their tracks at the sight of their linked arms. Alya nearly dropped her bag and it took all of her effort not to sprint after them and demand to know what they were doing. Damn that boy is good, she thought as she watched Nathanaël subtly pull Marinette closer to him as they manoeuvred the crowd, he's working faster than I thought. She heard a noise from beside her and turned her head to see Adrien was grinding his teeth, his throat making angry rumbling noises that reminded her of a cat trying to start a fight. As they watched, she saw Nathanaël turn his head slightly and spot them. He grinned at how cross Adrien looked and, when he saw Marinette wasn't looking, he shot him the biggest smirk he could manage, a smirk that made Alya's eyes go wide and Adrien physically hiss, earning him strange looks from some of the people walking past.

"Wow. I did not think he had that in him." Alya remarked as the two of them disappeared from sight. "It's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for, hey Adrien? Adrien?"

She whipped around in confusion as she was suddenly standing alone outside the classroom, the golden-haired boy nowhere to be seen. When she had been distracted, he had taken off for the bathrooms and was now locked in a cubicle fuming as Plagg bobbed in front of him and let him rant on, paying more attention to the cheese he was eating than his angry charge.

"Can you believe he just did that?!" Adrien went on as the kwami rolled his eyes. He had been treated to rants like this before since the pairs had been announced and this seemed no different. "He was being so smug about it and he did it right in front of her best friend as well! I told Marinette he was no good but she still went with him on a date!"

"Didn't she say she wasn't sure if it was a date or not?" Plagg put forwards and that seemed to calm the boy down a little. "I mean, aren't you jumping to conclusions? It could be just a friendly thing."

"Not likely with him." Adrien muttered darkly. "And I'm not taking any chances. Plagg, claws out!"

It didn't take Marinette and Nathanaël long to reach the park as it was barely ten minutes from the school but it felt like far longer as her nerves started to creep up on her. Nathanaël still had her arm and, although he had loosened his grip, it weighed heavily on her mind as they walked. Anyone who saw them, she knew, would think they were on a date and she was still very conflicted at whether she wanted it to be or not. Each time she came close to thinking she would like it to be, the image of Adrien beaming at her and giving her comfort or Chat calling her princess and it made her insides shrivel with guilt. It felt so wrong thinking of them whilst being with Nathanaël and it really didn't help with her nerves. Just think of it as friends hanging out, she told herself firmly as they entered the park, the sunshine and pretty greenery already calming her down. Just hanging out. Those were his exact words after all.

"There's the stall," She heard him say beside her as he pointed up the path to a little push-along cart painted in red and white pinstripes with a matching umbrella sheltering the cart from the hot sun. Marinette squealed when they reached the display they had of all the dozens of flavours they had and it took her all her will not to press her nose against the cold glass like a small child. This was her favourite place to get ice cream in the whole of Paris and she was seen there so regularly, she was known to the stallholder by name. As she peered through the frosted glass, she heard Nathanaël start ordering behind her. "I'll have a double strawberry scoop please. Marinette, what would you like?"

She didn't even hesitate when she ordered her usual. "One scoop of blueberry and one scoop of banana please, on the same cone." The man who owned the cart gave a fond smile at her strange order, the same one she always gave, before he started forming the snowballs of ice cream whilst Nathanaël gave her an odd look.

"You have blueberry and banana?" He asked her as he handed over some coins and she took both of the cones, her tongue wasting no time in licking up the dribbles that attempted to escape down the cone. "Doesn't that taste weird?"

"Not at all, these are my two favourites," She explained as she handed him his cone and they walked over to a nearby bench in the sunshine. "When I was little, I could never decide which I liked more so I always had both and I guess I just never stopped. Do you want to try?" She held out her cone but he shrunk back from it, blocking it with his own pink ice cream.

"No thanks. I don't really like the banana one." He said, taking a bite out of his own one. "I guess I'm just not adventurous when it comes to ice cream. Give me plain old strawberry any day."

"Well, who couldn't like strawberry?" She answered with a giggle and another long lick, mixing the two flavours on her tongue and making the two colours, yellow and purple, swirl together on the cone. "It's one of the most basic ones, you can't not like it."

"Yeah you can't." He smiled at her and she had to hide her blushing behind her ice cream. "You know what I really like about it? The colour. I don't know what it is but I just really like some colours and this is one of my favourites." He pointed to his cone where the ice cream, a light shade of rosy pink like a sunset, sat proudly like the orb on a sceptre. "I guess that's what drew me to art, I just love colours too much."

"I know what you mean, I love colours too, they are such an important part of making a successful design," She gushed in response. "What is your favourite?"

"I don't know if I could pick a single favourite." Nathanaël replied before he started to think, his hand going to his chin. "I do like this pink here. And I like dark purple, I'm always having to buy purple paint and orange too come to think of it. And I like bright colours like deep red… and I also really like blue." She turned her head and saw he was looking at her eyes, his head slightly to the side and a small dreamy smile on his lips. "Like a really pretty bright blue."

"Oh. Yeah." Blushing furiously, she looked away in embarrassment as she thought of her own answer. "Well, my favourite colour has always been pink, my room is full of it but recently I've started liking other colours a lot more. Yellow is nice, it's such a happy colour…" Her hand absent-mindedly trailed over her skirt as his eyes followed its movements and he nodded in agreement. "Then I also like red… but the shade I really love is green. Really deep emerald green." She smiled as she thought of the exact green she was talking about before she stiffened, her hand bunching up the yellow silky material in her fist as a pair of green eyes swam before her own. That was where she had got the colour from, that colour that felt like it saw the depths of her soul and drew her in like a moth to a sizzling flame. She just supressed a gasp, feeling it vibrate through her body and making her ice cream wobble. She took one look at the melting creamy goo and suddenly she wasn't that hungry anymore despite missing lunch.

Nathanaël, sensing that something was amiss, quickly went to change the subject. "So, your designs…what got you started with that?"

"Oh! That started when I was little, when I was a toddler I used to read all my mother's magazine's and admire what people were wearing…" The awkwardness of the colour conversation lost, they went on to talk about designing and painting and art, both of them getting more animated as they talked about their passions. They were so into their chatting that they didn't notice when the ice cream man packed up his stall and left for home, giving the youngsters another fond gaze as he did so, and they didn't notice when the rest of the people in the park started to leave, eager to be out of the evening chill. Marinette only realised how much time had passed when she felt the cold breeze on her bare arms and it made her teeth chatter.

"Oh god, I didn't think we had been out so late." Nathanaël said, looking down at his watch and cringing a little at the time. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it. I'll walk you home."

"You don't have to, really I'm fine." She tried to protest but he was already leading her in the direction of the bakery and had taken his own jacket off to drape it over her shoulders. The gesture again made her stomach twist guiltily but she gratefully wrapped it around her to ward off the chill which seemed to be getting colder with every second.

It took them no time at all to reach the bakery and she returned his jacket at the doorstep. "Thank you Nathanaël, I had a really nice time," She thanked him gladly. "It was nice to get away from the project and do something else."

"Yeah it was nice," He replied, his own smile a little nervous. "I'm glad you liked the ice cream anyway."

"Yeah, you picked a good spot for it." She grinned, her smile faltering slightly when he stepped a little closer to her.

"Ahem," He hummed as he studied her face. "I think you still have a little ice cream there. Let me get that for you." Before she could say anything, he leaned forwards and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. He lingered there for only a few seconds before he broke the contact and their eyes stared into each other, both of them feeling paralyzed.

Oh god, this was meant to be a date, she thought as she felt her panic levels rising and her cheeks go red. He just made it a date, he just kissed me goodnight, oh god what do I do…

Nathanaël seemed to have the exact same thoughts running through his head as he too went redder than a ripe cherry. He had practised the ice cream line in his head for almost the past day but he hadn't thought his far ahead. After a few seconds, he seemed to realise he was still there and he took a big step back, already turning to leave.

"Bye Marinette, I'll see you in school tomorrow!" He blurted out as he left, giving her an awkward wave. She waved back, her arm feeling like it didn't quite belong to her as she quickly turned around to let herself in. She headed straight for her room, her mind topsy-turvy with all that had happened. Why does this keep happening? She felt like her emotions had just become stable and then Nathanaël had swept out the carpet from under her feet with that kiss, making her more confused than before.

She let herself in through her trapdoor and as she pulled herself up, she heard a small cough from behind her. She looked around at the centre of her room to see the window was slightly ajar and standing there, his arms crossed and a furious expression on his face, was Chat Noir.


	7. Chapter 7

"You went." His cold words greeted her as she turned her back to close the trapdoor. She didn't want him to see the muddle of emotions in her face and she also didn't want to look into those green eyes of his again, remembering with a jolt what happened in the park. She could hear his tail flicking around angrily behind her, its swishing as regular as the ticking of a clock, that was accompanied by the pounding of her own heart.

"Yes I went." She shot back just as coldly, straightening up before she faced him. "And I had a nice time too."

"Marinette, what were you thinking?" He strode over to her and stopped a step away from her. He had uncrossed his arms but his hands were still bunched into fists and his voice had lost its coldness as hot rage began to seep back in. "What did I tell you about him having a crush on you? And now you've just been on a date with him!"

"It was not a date!" She cried out but the redness of her cheeks betrayed her as Nathanaël's parting kiss replayed in her mind and she saw his eyes flash an even deeper green.

"Really? So why did he kiss you then?" He growled at the memory; seeing Nathanaël put his lips on hers had felt as painful as his heart being ripped out and put in a blender and he had had to restrain grabbing one of her potted plants and throwing it at him.

"Were you spying on us?" She asked him, her voice as cutting as a blade as her eyes angrily fixed on his. "You had no right to do that!"

"I didn't spy on you!" He replied, holding up his arms. "I was here the entire time! I was waiting on your roof for you to come home, I wanted to make sure you were safe because I know he likes you and I didn't want him to take advantage!"

"And? Why do you care?!" She snapped. "Out of all the citizens of Paris, why do you care about who likes me? I'm just a nobody, why do you care so much about what happens to me?!"

For a second, he just stared at her, his eyes wide like he couldn't take in what she had just said. Then suddenly, he had taken the step that stood between them and taken her in his arms, his face centimetres from hers. All she could see were the green orbs of his eyes that glowed in front of hers and, although his arms were holding her tightly to his leather-clad body, she made no attempt to pull away.

"I care," He whispered, his voice low and husky. "Because I like you. You are the furthest thing from a nobody Marinette, you are my princess and I…" He leaned even closer so the tips of their noses were brushing and she could feel his breath on her cheek. "I don't want you to be taken away from me."

He then closed the distance left between them and kissed her, a kiss that was the total opposite to Nathanaël's. Whilst his had been soft, sweet and gentle, this was rough, hot and fuelled with fire. She could feel its heat under her skin and it flooded through her, sending all her thoughts flying out of the window as she arched into it, pressing herself against him as she passionately kissed him back, hungry for more. He obliged, angling his head to deepen the kiss as his hands raked up her sides, following her curves as they travelled back down more slowly and sensually before resting at her hips. She took a step back and he followed her, the pair moving in step like they were ballroom dancing until her back hit the wall and he pressed himself against her, earning him a moan he eagerly swallowed. It felt like they were spinning among stars as he felt her fingers curl into his hair and heard her softly moan his name on his lips. He whispered hers as he continued his passionate assault on her skin, kissing along her jawline and cheeks until they bloomed pink under his touch. She gave a little noise of protest and he returned to her lips only to be pleasantly surprised when he felt her tongue on his. He opened his mouth a little and let out a roaring purr when their tongues tangled together, fighting for control as their bodies wrapped even tighter together like they were trying to fuse with the heat that was baking the room. She felt his hand wander up to her hair and heard him unsheathe his claws. He then cut her hair ribbons in two, letting the cleanly-cut pieces fall to the floor, before he ran his hands through her hair and leaned back to take in the sight of her.

"You know, you look so beautiful with your hair down." He grinned down at her before she tugged him back to her lips and he gladly responded, using his tongue to explore the depths of her mouth and savour her sweet taste.

It was only when they heard noises from downstairs that their lips broke apart, Marinette staring at the trapdoor worriedly as she heard two voices cheerfully talking amidst the noises of pans clattering.

"My parents…" She panted between great gasps, trying to get oxygen back into her lungs as her body seemed to burn. "You…should go…before they find us here."

"Yes. Of course princess." For a moment he seemed even more dazed than her, his eyes almost glassy as he took in her very pink face. For a moment they just froze like that, neither of them making a move to loosen their tight embrace, before his head bent down and his lips found her neck. She gave another soft moan as he first kissed it softly before sharply gasping as he sank his teeth into her skin. He then lovingly ran his tongue over the patch of red he had created and gave it a look of satisfaction.

"There. Now the world will know you are mine." He whispered and his words sent a shiver of pleasure through her that he felt and marked with another swift kiss. "Au revoir princess."

"Au revoir kitty." She answered breathlessly as they untangled their limbs and he made a break for the window. Just before he jumped, he looked back at her and she could see the longing in his eyes, the longing to stay and be close to her. He twitched like he was going to come back to her before he gave her one final salute and a wink in his typical Chat Noir style and vaulted from the windowsill and out of sight.

For a few long seconds Marinette just stood there as she caught a glimpse of herself. Her hair was messed up and loose around her shoulders, her ribbons were trailing on the floor by her feet and her dress was rumpled where Chat had run his hands over her sides. There was also a large mark on her neck and one hand flew up to cover it whilst the other covered her mouth to stop a cry escaping. Tikki flew out of the purse at her waist, ready to scold the girl for almost squishing her in the midst of their embrace, but she stopped when she saw the turmoil raging on the girl's face. Marinette looked up with frightened eyes at her kwami and it was only then when she could speak.

"Tikki," She choked out, her lungs still not fully recovered. "What did I just do?"

Marinette felt mortified walking into school the next day. Her insides cringed every time somebody looked her way, like she feared her shame had been tattooed onto her face so everyone could see-here be the girl who kissed two guys in one night. Did that make her a slut? She had asked Tikki a million times over the night and even though she had said no, she still wasn't convinced. When she thought of the kiss she had shared with Chat Noir, it made her burn, like being in his arms had lit some flame inside her and it was smouldering away like an ember, waiting to be relit. She yearned for more of it, for more of him but then she would think of Nathanaël and feel guilty enough to cry. It felt almost like cheating but then was it really because she hadn't believed it was a date and even now she wasn't sure if they were dating, he had taken off so fast…urgh! She felt like going to find somewhere far away and just screaming until everything became clear but she knew she had to face both the other boys in this confusing muddle that was beginning to feel like a farce. Adrien and Nathanaël. How was she going to face them after what she had just done?

It was just her luck that the first face she saw upon walking into the classroom was the face of Adrien as he sat at his desk happily gazing into space as he daydreamed. What she didn't know was that he too was thinking about the kiss and he hadn't been able to stop since leaving her house the night before. When he closed his eyes, he could see that image of her looking up at him, her eyes foggy and her lips full with the force of their kissing, and it made every part of him melt. He had been so spaced out that morning that Plagg had had to nag him to eat breakfast and get to the car, something he never did as he usually didn't care. Now as she walked in and he recognised her presence, he didn't know how he was holding back from kissing her again. Everything about her was addictive and he found his eyes roaming to his neck to look for his mark, which she had covered up with concealer that morning and was only just visible if you knew where to look.

"Good morning Marinette!" He smiled at her and he watched as she spun around with a squeak of fright.

"Adrien! Hello!" She practically stumbled into the room, two rosy blotches appearing on her cheeks that he thought were adorable. "Hello Adrien!" She stopped in front of his desk to try and compose herself before she noticed the big soppy smile that was on his face. "You seem in a good mood this morning."

"Oh I am Mari. I really am." His eyes were glazed with contentment as he looked up at her with a wide smile that nearly made her fall backwards. She stared at him for a second as she gave a loud gulp and planted a hand on the desk to steady herself. For the smallest of seconds, the smile had made him look like Chat Noir and the stark reminder of the previous evening made her insides go hot. It's just a trick of the light, nothing more, him being Chat is impossible, she told herself but it was still very unsettling.

Adrien too seemed to realise his response was out of character as he then asked her "How are you Marinette? Feeling any better than yesterday?" This was given with a much softer smile and this instantly calmed her frayed nerves.

"Somewhat." She answered vaguely. "I'm glad this project is nearly over anyway. The fashion show is in a couple of days."

"I'll be relieved when it is done too," Adrien admitted. "I like Alya but you don't know how much she wants to beat you. She's been working us both hard and she wants us to do an all-nighter tonight to get it perfect." He made a tired pout that made Marinette giggle and her hand reached out to ruffle his hair.

"Aw, poor Cinders." She laughed before she froze again with her fingers deep in his locks of hair. She felt her cheeks go red as she stared down at him and it hit her that Chat had called her a similar thing a couple of nights ago. Why was she suddenly more relaxed around Adrien and more tense around Chat? It was like they had swapped roles and she didn't like it. What made it worse was Adrien seemed to be enjoying her messing up his perfect hair and he was leaning into her hand like a kitten seeking affection.

"Why did you stop?" He looked up at her with another pout like a sulky child and he looked so funny she couldn't help laughing.

"Sorry." She giggled as she ruffled his hair again. He closed his eyes and made a noise almost like a purr that she could feel rumbling through him and when she started scratching his head it got louder. "I didn't realise you liked getting your head fussed so much."

"Only when you do it." He answered and she could feel her face flare up as he opened one eye to look up at her. "You do it so well."

"Th-thank you." She stuttered as she continued before she wanted to slap herself. Why was she stammering around him again? She thought she had sorted that! However, it seemed her insides felt very differently to her as when she looked back down at his pleased face, she could feel herself going all warm and fuzzy. I still have a crush on him, she thought with a tiny whimper she quickly covered up with a cough. Lord help me.

It was at that moment when Alya entered the classroom. She was bursting to tell Marinette about Adrien's reaction the day before when he had seen her with Nathanaël but all thoughts of that suddenly dissolved when she took in the sight she had just walked into. She could barely believe it: not only was Marinette leaning over Adrien's desk with her fingers buried in his hair but she was laughing and Adrien was nuzzling into her hand, grinning happily as he revelled in it. Alya took a bewildered look at her best friend, who was giggling like she didn't have a care in the world. Was this really the same girl who practically fainted whenever Adrien used to look at her. The Marinette before the project wouldn't have done this in a million years. Maybe Adrien was pulling back into the lead in this competition, she thought with a wry smile as she let out a delicate cough to get their attention.

"So… do I need to give you two the talk? I don't want to become a godmother just yet you know."

"Alya!" Marinette squealed as she registered the girl's presence and felt herself glow red in embarrassment like a traffic light. Why did everyone have to come into the classroom at the wrong time? It was beginning to get annoying! She realised Alya was staring at her hand with her arms crossed and her eyebrows at her hairline and she instantly whipped it away from Adrien's head, not hearing his quiet meowl of protest. "It's not like that!"

"Really girl?" Alya said and Marinette cringed loudly. "That's not what it looked like from here." Moving like lightning, she suddenly reached out, grabbed Marinette's arm and yanked her back towards the door. "I need to talk with you right now, no ifs or buts missy," She told her firmly and Marinette had no choice but to comply. "She'll be back in a few minutes Adrien if you want your belly rubbed too."

"Alya!" Marinette repeated, her voice even louder and more outraged as she swore she could have died of embarrassment on the spot. Adrien too looked embarrassed as he abruptly focused his attention on unpacking his bag, his face red as the thought of Marinette giving him a belly rub didn't actually seem all that bad. Marinette was dragged down the corridor until they reached the locker room, which was mercifully empty, and Alya span around to face her. She finally let her arm loose from her tight grip and Marinette rubbed the spot with a look at her friend.

"Alya that hurt!"

"Sorry Mari but you looked rooted to the spot, I had to take drastic measures," Alya replied, her voice apologetic before she launched into a tide of excited gabbling. "Were you really just scratching Adrien Agreste's head? At the front of the class? That was the most sickeningly sweet thing I have ever seen in my life, I loved it! Are you two official now? You should have seen him when he saw you with Nathanaël, he was so jealous! And also, you didn't tell me you two went on a date, you are supposed to update me when things like that happen!"

"I didn't think it was a date!" Marinette almost shouted. At this point, she thought, she would be quite happy to never hear the word date again. "I didn't realise until he went and kissed me! And wait, Adrien was jealous?" Her blue eyes went wide as she stared at her whilst Alya looked ready to explode with the news she had wanted to tell her for days.

"Are you kidding me?! He was green with envy! When he saw you were eating lunch with Nathanaël a few days ago, he looked ready to go over and punch him and yesterday when he saw you two heading off together he was spitting feathers! Honestly if I'd known all you had to do was show interest in another guy to get his attention, I would have pushed you in front of Nathanaël a long time ago!" She gave a short laugh before something clicked in her mind and she grabbed Marinette's shoulders. "Wait, did you say he kissed you?!"

Marinette meekly nodded in response. "When was that?"

"Yesterday. Outside the bakery. He said I had ice cream on my face and he would get it for me and the next thing I knew he was kissing me." Marinette looked up into Alya surprised face as she let out a long whistle.

"Oh, the old ice cream line, that boy is smoother than I thought damnit." She looked cross for a second but her face instantly softened when she saw Marinette was looking at her with panicked eyes like a rabbit staring down a speeding truck. "So you have both of them with a crush on you. Which one are you going to pick?"

"I don't know!" Marinette was close to sobbing and Alya pulled her quickly into a hug as Marinette poured out all her confusions on her comforting shoulder. "I've always really liked Adrien and he's so sweet and kind and everything anyone could want but Nathanaël is so lovely and calming and we both love art and designing and I just don't know! I'm crushing on both of them, I'm so awful!" She decided not to bring up Chat Noir, the boy who was funny and charming and kissed her until her head reeled, but his name lay unspoken on her tongue as tears seeped into the fabric of Alya's plaid shirt.

"Don't be silly, you're not awful." Alya was quick to reassure her as she gave her a squeeze and patted her on the head. "It's no wonder you're confused, they are both great guys. You can't really lose in this situation. Do you want me to get rid of one for you so you don't have to pick?"

"Alya!" Marinette said again but this time she was laughing as she gave her a hug in return. "Thanks for listening, that all needed to come out."

"That's what I'm here for Mari," Alya grinned down at the now smiling girl as she wiped the remaining moisture from her cheeks. "Feel free to use me as a tissue anytime. I will forever be willing to help you with your love life. After all, I want my godchildren to be adorable."

Marinette pretended to punch her and both girls burst out laughing, still hanging onto each other like they were holding themselves up. They were so busy laughing that they didn't notice when a mop of red hair peered around the corner.

"Hey Marinette! I was just looking for you." The two of them suddenly heard Nathanaël's voice and straightened up to see he was standing in the doorway. "I saw your bag in the classroom but no one had seen you. Is everything alright?" He asked, seeing how Marinette's eyes were faintly edged with red.

"Everything's fine Nathanaël, we were just having a girly chat," Alya hastily covered, gesturing wildly at her middle as Marinette opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish. Nathanaël looked suitably horrified and she knew he wouldn't press the issue. "Do you two need to go off and get on with your design?"

"Yeah but it's about that," Nathanaël said, turning awkwardly to Marinette with his hand glued to the back of his neck. Their sort-of date hung between them and Marinette could feel herself blushing deeply as Nathanaël tried to speak as professionally as he could. "I just went to our classroom and it turns out a class in one of the upper years is going to be using that room for today. That means we have to go back to our classroom and work on the dress there. I already retrieved most of what we might need." He motioned to a bag he was carrying and Alya curiously tried to peer inside before he closed it up and gripped it a little tighter.

"OK," Marinette finally said, glad to have the project to focus on. "That shouldn't be a problem, we only need to add the last couple of details after all and we can always keep it under wraps if we don't want people looking at it."

"Sure, we'll do that." Nathanaël agreed with a smile and Marinette gave a relaxed smile back. Alya looked between the pair of them before she put her arm around Marinette's shoulder and began to led her back to the classroom.

"This will be great, me and Adrien are working in the classroom too so we can work side by side. I feel like I haven't seen you for a while, you've been holed up on the other side of the school the entire time!" Marinette laughed along with her, neither of them seeing how Nathanaël's face twitched at the mention of his rival's name.

Adrien had helpfully already set out part of their project when the three of them returned to the classroom and Marinette couldn't help gawping at the suit jacket that was spread out over the desk. It was a bright shade of spring green and was made of velvet which made it look like delicate moss and the cuffs and trim were heavy with gold embroidery. She leaned in closer to the gold so her nose was almost touching it and she marvelled at the detail that had been woven into the intricate pattern of leaves so every vein on each one could be seen. There were even tiny little ladybugs sewn onto some of the leaves and the sight of them made her smile. With two of the biggest Ladybug fans in Paris working on the same project, there was bound to be a tribute somewhere and it was one she greatly appreciated.

"Who did this?" She breathed out in wonder as Alya fondly smiled at the girl's sheer excitement. "It's fantastic!"

"Adrien did it," Alya stated proudly. "For a pretty face, he's surprisingly good with a needle and even though he had to unpick it like fifteen times, it looks amazing. We shouldn't really be surprised though; he is in the fashion industry after all."

"It doesn't really; other people make the clothes I just wear them," Adrien said humbly as Marinette's eyes continued to scour the jacket. "I'm looking forwards to seeing your design Marinette. You're really talented and you're going to look amazing."

"Th-th-thanks Adrien," Marinette just managed to stutter out, Adrien's compliment being what dragged her away from the jacket. "I'm sure you will look w-wonderful too."

"Yeah, this is going to look so good, this suit will kick your butts!" Alya boastfully leapt into the conversation after a glance at Nathanaël's face. Don't start a war here, she thought, that certainly won't end well for Marinette.

"Really?" Marinette's competitive spirit came to the surface in a flash, the sudden shift in the stance and the glint in her eyes making both boys gulp a little. "Your suit may be nice but this ball gown we made is going to blow it out of the water! At the end of the competition, that suit will be bowing down to ours as we kick your butts!" She declared confidently with a jabbing finger at them both before she headed up to the desk behind them.

"I'll look forwards to it." Adrien then answered, the flirtatious smirk on his face directed at Marinette making Alya stare at him open-mouthed. Marinette took one look at his face and nearly tripped over, her face crimson as she gripped the bench for support and hid among the giant pile of material she drew quickly from the bag as she became a gibbering mess. Meanwhile Nathanaël was giving him a murderous look, like he would be fine with kicking Adrien's butt right there and then, and Adrien returned it with a smug grin.

Take that strawberry shortcake, he thought gleefully as Marinette continued to use their ball gown, which they covered with a sheet, as cover to stop herself looking at him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Alya was looking at him, her hazel eyes sparking with amusement as a small pleased smile appeared on her lips.

"Steady Agreste," She warned him lightly as she gave him an approving pat on the back. "You don't want the girl to have a heart attack."

"Duly noted." He answered and the two pairs quickly got to work. For a short while the classroom was quiet with industry, the buzzing of sewing machines and giving of quiet instructions being the only things marring what would have been a silent classroom. For a little while there was an uneasy peace as the four of them worked away with Nathanaël and Adrien occasionally shooting each other filthy looks, Alya silently observing the whole thing and secretly enjoying it and Marinette not looking any of them in the eyes as she struggled to let Adrien's remark compute. All was going well until they all heard the sound of shouting in the distance. A few heads perked up as the sounds grew closer and started becoming more shrill. By the time it was outside the classroom, several people had covered their ears as Chloe came flying in with a great wail worthy of any ghost in a horror movie.

"I refuse!" She cried out, dragging out the words like she was clawing her nails down a blackboard. "I will not go on and wear that disaster of a dress!"

The eyes of the class went back to the door as Alix came walking in, her arms crossed and a sour expression on her face. "Will you shut up for one minute and listen, you stupid brat?!" The tiny girl snapped as everyone else paused to watch the next round of Chloe versus Alix. "We have no choice, you were the one who designed it, you can't decide you hate it two days before the show!"

"I can and I will!" The blonde responded loudly, stamping her foot down hard on the ground. "I hate that thing, it doesn't go with my vision at all! It's all your fault, you're the one who made it horrible!"

"Do I look like a bloody seamstress?!" Alix shouted, her face getting redder and redder with each word as she held out her hands. They were already pretty tough from the amount of rollerblading and other sports she did but now they were covered in needle marks and sores. "I tried my best but I'm just not good at it! Maybe if you had helped a little more, instead of lying back in your chair the whole time demanding a manicure, it would look better!"

"You really think I would stoop so low to do manual labour?!" Chloe then shrieked, her face slowly turning puce. "I don't want to end up with dirty hands like yours! Have you ever even heard of hand cream?" Alix gave a snarl as she clenched her hands into fists and Chloe looked worried for a brief second before she turned her back on her and stuck her nose in the air. "Whatever. I'm not wearing it."

"Chloe we can't make something else now, we have no time." Alix tried to reason with her, speaking through gritted teeth. "You have to wear it, end of."

"No I don't! I don't have to take orders from you, you beastly little imp!" Chloe angrily faced her again and pointed a long pink nail at her. "The last thing I will ever do is listen to someone so short, you shrimpy gnome!"

Everyone held their breath and the air turned wintery as Alix gave Chloe the most furious glare she could muster. "Did you just call me short? Again?" She growled threateningly as she went to roll her sleeves back up. She went to take a step forwards but then Kim stopped her, resting a hand on her shoulder and making her angle her head to look at him. He slowly shook his head and as her blue eyes met his steady dark brown ones she stood down, shooting one last cross look at Chloe as she did so. However, the blonde, instead of being grateful that she was no longer on Alix's warpath, turning her attention to Kim as she shouted at the pair of them.

"Of course, you would need your boyfriend to step in, wouldn't you?" She sneered loudly. "You know he liked me first right? Obviously I was too good for him, I would never go out with such a pig-headed lout…"

She was cut off as a loud battle cry filled the air and Alix charged for her. Chloe had just enough time to scream before Alix hit her like a cannonball, sending them both crashing to the ground.

"Don't you dare talk about my Kimmy like that, you bitch!" Alix angrily yelled between blows as the two girls rolled around on the floor, tearing at each other's hair and landing as many punches as they could. Meanwhile Kim stood at the front just watching them, a small smile on his face as his cheeks reddened at Alix's nickname for him. His friend Max just shook his head fondly at how suddenly soppy his friend looked and the whole class erupted into cheers as Alix easily gained the upper hand in the fight.

Marinette just stood and watched the girls brawl, so engrossed in it she jumped when she felt a hand tap her shoulder. She looked around to see Alya was standing there, looking like she was enjoying this immensely, and she leaned forwards to whisper something in her ear.

"See? Look at their situation, yours could definitely be worse."

Marinette took one last look over at the two warring girls as Chloe tried to claw at Alix's face and got a punch right in her eye as payment. "I guess." She answered slowly, not really believing it. She saw Chloe's nose was bleeding and she gave a small wince. She hoped her dilemma wouldn't end up like this.

 _That doesn't sound ominous at all, does it? Anyway, I need to go have a lie down now, not just because of that kiss, but because the next chapter will be the fashion show! Hope you liked this and many thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, I honestly wasn't expecting such a great response. All your support is amazing and your comments make me grin like Chat Noir ;). Until next time!_


	8. Chapter 8

Marinette sat backstage, her hands folded in her lap among the folds of her skirt and her head bowed as her fingers wrinkled new patterns in the fabric in an attempt to calm herself down. Around her, she could hear shouting and scraping sounds as her fellow students worked to bring the catwalk together, all the hard work and excitement from the past few days peaking at this moment where everything was coming together. It was less than an hour until the show would start and she knew she should feel excited but the only thing she could feel right now was the heavy weight of her nerves in the pit of her treacherous stomach that felt like a nest of baby snakes was tormenting her. She had felt on the verge of throwing up several times but there was nothing in her to puke up; she was so on the edge, she hadn't eaten a thing all day. She had offered to help with getting everything organised, desperately wanting a distraction, but Alya had taken one look at her pale sweating face and insisted she rest. That was how she had found herself sitting on an upturned box, already decked out in her and Nathanaël's creation and wishing the ceiling would fall in on her so she didn't have to think anymore.

Chat hadn't come last night. She had lain awake for most of the night, her heart feeling like it would burst at any second and her head buried under her blankets to stop her parents hearing her curse the stupid cat. She cursed him for kissing her and making her want him to come back and she cursed herself for kissing him back the way she had and not knowing if she wanted him to come back or not. She had then cursed Nathanaël for his confusing not date that had turned into a date and then Adrien for his flirty remark that had caused her to nearly fall over and get a concussion. She had fallen asleep at some point in the early hours of the morning, still cursing her damn situation, but she had woken up not feeling any better. She leant her head back against the cold wall behind her and groaned. She couldn't believe she had gone and done this to herself. She felt something shifting in the purse by her side and she looked down to see Tikki was staring up at her, her saucer-shaped blue eyes wide with sympathy.

"Are you feeling any better?" The kwami gently asked and Marinette shook her head.

"I feel terrible Tikki." She answered, putting her arm over her eyes as she pointed her face up to the ceiling, wanting the darkness it brought to swamp her. "What am I going to do? I can't be crushing on three guys at the same time! Doesn't this make me a polygamist or something? Or maybe a cheater? I'm horrible!"

"I think you would have to be actually with one of them for it to be cheating," Tikki said as she flew up to Marinette's face and poked her arm to make her lower it. "And you're not a polygamist or horrible, you are just a teenage girl with a lot of confusing emotions right now. It's not surprising really, you have to deal with so much already, it's a wonder you can cope with it. Millions of other girls couldn't do what you do on a daily basis, that's why you are Ladybug." Tikki looked a little guilty before she said "I wish I could be more help to you Marinette, I don't like seeing you stressed like this."

"Oh Tikki," Marinette smiled as she cupped the little red fairy in her hands and rubbed her cheek against her, the action making the pair of them giggle. "You're already such a help to me, just by being here. I don't know what I would do sometimes without you. Who else would have known that yellow dress was perfect?" They shared another giggle but the mention of the date made her stomach churn again. Three guys; Adrien, Nathanaël and Chat Noir, three very different points of a love triangle that had fenced her directly in the middle of it. She sighed as she looked pleadingly back at her kwami. "Tikki, what can I do?"

"That's something only you can figure out Marinette," Tikki replied as she reached for the girl's cheeks and gently hugged them. "Just follow what your heart tells you, it will know what to do." She gave her a little smile and Marinette returned it with one of her own. She almost crushed the little bug in a tight teary hug as she whispered her thanks but then their moment was interrupted by the sound of her name being called.

"I'll be back here!" Tikki said hurriedly as she dived back into Marinette pink purse. "I have faith in you Marinette!"

At least somebody does, Marinette thought as she carefully placed the purse at the back of the pile of her classes school bags nearby, not wanting Tikki to get crushed. She then looked up and saw Nathanaël was making his way towards her, his face alert with panic.

"Marinette! Thank god you're here." He said relieved as he stopped in front of her to take in the sight of her dressed up in their joint masterpiece. "Alya said you weren't feeling too well and I feared you might have been sent home. I was just coming to get you ready though you already look…" He seemed lost for words as he stared at her in awe. "Lovely. You…you look lovely."

"Thank you Nathanaël." Marinette blushed before she gave a little twirl to distract herself, letting the dress swish around her like ocean waves. "And I'm feeling better now so I don't need to go anywhere."

"That's good to hear." Nathanaël replied, pink still splashed on his cheeks as he took her hands to steer her away. "Have you got any make-up on?"

"No, not yet." She answered, briefly looking away. That was a lie; she had painted her neck with the heaviest concealer she had to conceal Chat Noir's love bite which had shown no sign of fading away that morning, much to her dismay. Just as stubborn and annoying as the actual cat, she thought crossly before she forced all thoughts of the leather-clad superhero from her mind as Nathanaël led her into their classroom, which was being used as the make-up room for the models, and sat her down on a nearby stool.

"Are you sure you don't want me to do it?" She asked as Nathanaël started setting out brushes and different items from her make-up bag.

"Why, are you worried about me making you look bad?" Nathanaël smiled in response as Marinette shook her head quickly, not wanting him to be offended. "I want you to just relax Marinette and I've got this. I mean, what's the difference between this brush and a paintbrush?" He held up the nearest and biggest brush on the desk next to them and it fit so naturally in his fingers she had to giggle.

"Alright then, you are my partner after all so I'll let you take the reins on this one." She told him. She was quite happy to just sit there and not think for a while. Nathanaël nodded with a grin as he sat down in front of her and squeezed a small blob of foundation on the back of his hand that he was using as a palette.

"This make-up business isn't so hard actually," He said as he gently dabbed some of it onto her cheeks and painted it over her skin. "You're already beautiful so you don't need much."

He smiled at how red she then went, her fingers twisting in her lap as she couldn't think of a thing to say. Nathanaël then continued her make over in silence and she was happy to let the quiet wash over her as the other members of the class came in and made the last finishing touches to their overall look. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting the other's outfits to be spoiled for her but she could hear the others gasping around her and she realised her own dress wasn't covered up. It doesn't matter now anyway, she thought calmly as a brush swept over her eyelids, tickling her with the plum purple powder he was applying there.

After a few minutes she heard his voice again. "OK, you can open your eyes now!" He said proudly as he put a mirror in her hands and as she admired herself, she had to admit he had done a great job. Her skin now looked as flawless as bone china, the clarity of her blue eyes shone out from under the thick bold line of purple eyeshadow he had used instead of eyeliner and the frame of her eyelashes and her lips were a delicate coral colour. "Wow." She breathed out as she gingerly touched her cheek like she was scared it would all fall away if she did. "This is amazing Nat, I think you have a real calling as a make-up artist."

"Well if I'm that good, maybe I should charge for my services," He joked but she could tell by his wide beaming smile that he was secretly pleased. "Now, what do you want to do with your hair?" He moved his hand up to trail a line through the middle of one of her pigtails and she rose her own hand to quickly pull the ribbon out.

"I'm not really sure, we could put it up a bit more, make it more fancy…" She spoke out loud as she pondered ideas, untying her hair as she did so and letting it fall loose around her face as she played around with the tips. It was only when she saw Nathanaël was just sitting there staring at her with his eyes wide did she freeze up and stop talking. "Is…is something wrong?"

"No." He answered as he took her hands in his and dragged them away from fiddling with her hair. "This is perfect." He looked at her admiringly as he held the mirror back up and she stared in surprise at her reflection. After a whole day in pigtails, her hair had settled into natural curls, the kinks from the ribbons making a wave effect that made her hair look like a waterfall crashing onto her shoulders and spilling down her back. A few strands had coiled around her face in little tendrils and she giggled as she brushed them away, hardly daring to believe the pretty girl in the mirror was her, before she looked back up at Nathanaël who was smiling like he had just found gold at the end of the rainbow.

"You know, you look beautiful with your hair down." He said before he stood up and kissed her gently on the top of her head. "You should wear it like that more often." He then walked away to attend to the stage, not realising the effect his words had had on her as she covered her mouth to stop herself gagging. Those were the exact same words Chat had said, it was like the boy had quoted him, and the sudden stark reminder made her feel like she had been hit by a tsunami. She clenched her eyes shut again as she dug her nails in her palms, the sharp pain taking the bite from the sick feeling. She took in deep shaky breaths as she tried to calm down. Mind over matter, she insistently told herself, don't think of him, don't think of any of them, don't think…

"This cannot be happening!"

The sudden panicked cry shook Marinette from her stupor as she whipped her head up to see who was in distress. As she looked up, Alix came into the room, a mobile phone glued to her ear as she snapped down at whoever was on the other end.

"You cannot be serious! After all that, you just aren't going to turn up? You really are a stubborn stupid brat!" Alix angrily jabbed at the phone to hang up and then hurled it across the surface of the desk like it was a curling stone. It skimmed past Marinette, who quickly grabbed it to stop it spinning off the edge and smashing before she stood up and went over to the small pink-haired girl who looked ready to tear all her hair out.

"Alix, what's wrong?"

"Chloe, that's what's wrong!" She spat out with as much fury as she could manage. "You wouldn't believe what that excuse for a human being has just done! I spent all day working on that damn dress she wanted to wear so badly at the beginning of this project and then, just now when I've finished, I get a call from her saying that after what happened yesterday, she's not going to show up and model it! Apparently she's got a black eye and she doesn't want everyone to see it!" She seethed through gritted teeth, both hands bunched into fists again. "I wish I'd given her two now, I was holding back yesterday because I didn't want her to do this!"

"How…considerate of you." Marinette said but Alix didn't hear as she ranted on.

"Now what am I going to do? I have half an hour until the show starts, no partner to model and the most ridiculous dress in history to show for it!"

"Oh come on, I'm sure it's not that bad…" Marinette started trying to cheer the girl up but the look Alix gave her quelled the words on her tongue.

"Oh yeah? Come and take a look at the thing." With the strength of an ox, Alix took hold of Marinette's arm and pulled her out of the room, taking her into the opposite classroom where the classes outfits had been stored before the show. Most of them had already been taken but a lone few still were on the dressmaker's dummies waiting to be collected. Alix pulled her over to one in the furthest corner of the room where one dummy was almost hiding in the dimly lit room like it didn't want to be seen. Alix jerked Marinette to a stop in front of it and waved her arm like she was about to start a jazz routine.

"See? Look at that and tell me it's not that bad."

"Oh." That was the only thing Marinette could say as she stared at the dress. It looked like every single Disney princess had vomited on Miss Havisham's wedding dress and the whole effect was hideous. The sleeves were short and puffed out like pumpkins, the white satin bodice had been crisscrossed with silver beading that was falling off and looked like old cobweb, the neckline had been crumpled into a poor attempt at a sweetheart neckline and the skirt…oh god the skirt. It sprouted out from the waist and it was as wide as it was long, the sheer amount of material looking like it went on for miles. Marinette reached out her hand to touch it, like she had to make sure the monstrosity was actually real, and she could feel the weight of the skirt just by touching it. How many layers of this stuff were there? She thought as she lifted up the thing white satin that just covered the under layers like it was trying to conceal a dark secret and she almost baulked at the amount of tulle inside that was giving the skirt its bubble like shape. She looked back at Alix and saw the girl was close to tears.

"You see what I'm left with?" She almost whimpered, her anger gone and replaced with fear at her situation. "What can I do with this? It's awful, it doesn't fit me and I'm running out of time! It's hopeless, I might as well just leave now and fail the final project."

"No way are we doing that!" Marinette said determinedly, making Alix stare at her in shock. As she looked at the dress, the cogs of her mind were already spinning in a frenzy as she thought of how she could make it worthy to step out on stage. "If you walk out of here now, you've let Chloe beat you and there is no way I'm letting you do that to yourself! We are going to make you a dress and we are going to do it now!"

"But how can we do anything?" Alix said, still in dismay. "We have exactly twenty-five minutes!"

"That's all the time we'll need." Marinette smiled as she went over to the teacher's desk and pulled a pair of scissors from a drawer. She strode back over to the dress and started hacking away at it, taking as much glee in it as if it were the real Chloe as flurries of white fabric went flying through the air like oversized snowflakes and Alix continued to gawp at her. "Go get some help and supplies," Marinette ordered her and the girl instantly nodded with a big grin when she saw what Marinette was doing. "We're going to have some fun with this."

Exactly twenty-five minutes later, those who were modelling were gathered behind the stage, eagerly waiting for the show to begin. Those who were brave enough to peep through the two long white curtains that hid the stage could see the panel where the judges were sitting, with Gabriel Agreste at the end staring stonily at the catwalk with a glare that looked cold enough to freeze it. In the front row of the audience, in a long line running parallel to the catwalk, the rest of the class were sitting, waiting with baited breath to see their project finally on the catwalk. The air felt thick and heavy with anticipation as everything seemed to fall into place. Everything was ready and the show was about to begin.

Suddenly the music started up and the curtain drew apart, ushering in the beginning of the show. The audience instantly became a sea of glimmering phone screens as they were all raised like an offering to capture the arrival of the first model and their project. The first one to stride out onto the stage was Nino, who confidently walked on like this was nothing more than one of his regular DJing gigs. Adrien had taken a peep through the curtains to see his friend's creation in its full glory under the light and he wanted to laugh at how right Nino had been-the suit really did have a vibe to it, as he had called it. The short jacket and trousers that flared out at the bottom were a vivid shade of electric blue and the shirt underneath was a pale orange with black buttons that had blobs of orange on the inside to make them look like records. Matching record buttons could be seen on the cuffs and black music notes had been sewn on to make decorative pockets. Adrien could see much of Nino in the suit but he could also see Sabrina had contributed by making Nino wear a matching blue beret with black music notes instead of his baseball cap and she had also taken off his headphones. The judge's faces were unreadable as Nino made his way down the catwalk but Nino didn't seem to care as he made his way towards them with a wide grin on his face. As he walked down, he caught sight of Alya filming him in the crowd and he shot her a wink as he went past, causing her to blush and nearly drop her phone. He then stood at the end, giving a little wave to a shy Sabrina as he did so, and waited for the next person to come out.

The rest of the class then each took their turn to step out in the spotlight and the audience oohed and awed at each new design. Rose then came out in the long red ball gown that she had designed with Kim that fit her perfectly with little cap sleeves that looked like rose petals, a velvety bodice with a dropped waist that had been embroidered with white stars and a long flowing skirt she had to delicately pick up at the front so she could walk and show off the many layers of petticoat that were underneath. At the end of the runaway, she twirled like a ballerina, making the audience cheer as she giggled, whispering softly that she felt like a princess.

Max had followed her, blinking behind his thick glasses at the bright lights as he made his way awkwardly down the catwalk, his limbs moving almost robotically as he walked. His suit was a shiny grey that was almost silver under the lights and the jacket was double-breasted and had tails coming out from behind it, both of which had been edged with lime green like the plumage of a peacock. He had kept his black bow tie over a matching lime green shirt and the grey trousers had green seams running up the sides. He gave a thumbs up to Ivan in the audience who returned them as he nodded approvingly as he looked over his favourite part of the suit-the black lining that had been covered in little white dots that were actually, on closer examination, tiny white skulls.

Next had been Juleka who, for a girl who had dreaded having her photo taken, looked surprisingly comfortable as she walked out and smiled at Rose, who had let out a little squeal when she had seen her. Her dress was strapless and had a sweetheart necklace and the top had been covered in black lace that ended just below her bust and then flowed out into an empire line skirt. The long purple chiffon skirt flowed straight down like the dress of a Greek goddess and an ombre effect had been added to it so it started off at the top a soft lilac colour that faded softly into a deep violet at the hem. It swished gently around her feet as she walked and when she reached the end, she gave a shy wave over to Mylene, who looked really to burst with pride at the sight of her.

Then Alix had boldly walked out and everybody's jaws had dropped at what she was wearing. The hideous white dress had been completely transformed and the classmates who had seen it in its full state before had to rub their eyes in disbelief as the tiny girl strutted along with her hands confidently on her hips. The puffed up sleeves had been ripped away leaving two thin strips of fabric to act as spaghetti straps. The sweetheart neckline had been cut away into a jagged V, the slightly frayed edge left to look deliberate and, everyone had to admit, the effect looked pretty cool as it lay against her skin. The beading had all been torn away and the bodice had been taken in, the darts lying on the outside so they stuck out. The skirt was the biggest change though. All of the layers had been cut into a different length and a different shape, overlapping like a million pointed snowflakes and it was no longer plain white either-Alix had ran to the art room and gathered up all the nearly empty spray cans she could. The girls had then had fun just spraying the whole skirt with the odds and ends of the different coloured paints and now the skirt looked like the craziest canvas ever with paint drips bleeding down it in a rainbow of different colours. It was most definitely a punk ball gown and Alix proudly owned it as she walked down the catwalk like she was going to war. She saw Kim in the audience and the pair of them shared a winning smile before she winked and blew a kiss at him, making him go redder than Rose's ball gown. Only Adrien watching closely from the back saw his father give an approving nod at the dress and he smiled. He had heard about how Marinette had come to Alix's rescue to save her project and his heart swelled at how well it had turned out. She really does have a flair for this, he thought, not that he had ever doubted that. What was she going to walk out in? He had barely seen her that day as Alya had made her rest.

He was shaken from his thoughts by the signal to walk and he made his way out onto the runaway. Unlike everyone else, he was used to this so he wasn't at all fazed by the bright lights or the noises of the crowd, he just walked up towards the judges confidently like he was just walking down the street. He couldn't help but smile at the reaction the suit got though, he really was proud of it. The green jacket was long, almost like a coat, and had thick gold piping around the edges as well as his own embroidery with the straight leg trousers matching perfectly. The cloth-covered buttons sat at the front and he loved the little detail Alya had insisted they add-each one had a tiny gold ladybug on it. He stood at the end of the runaway and gave his father a smile before he turned around eagerly to see the final model of the night walk out. He had seen only parts of the dress as Chat Noir so he knew already that it was going to be good but he couldn't have thought of how unprepared he actually was. He watched as she hesitantly stepped out into the light from behind the curtain and everything suddenly seemed to stop as she did so. The music that had previously been pounding in his ears faded to just a faint dull thud and the audience zoned out as he couldn't drag his eyes away from the girl who was standing at the other end of the catwalk like she was in a trance.

He had known she was beautiful before but in that moment she was stunning. Her hair was flowing free around her face, the gentle waves bouncing as she took the first few steps and under the light her porcelain skin looked like it was glowing, making her look like a celestial being as she walked like she was floating. The crowds around them fell into a hush as she walked, all eyes on her completely transfixed. The only sound that registered in Adrien's ears was the gentle rustle of her ball gown that she had worked so hard on and made her look breath-taking. The gown was one-shouldered with a strap that cut across her collarbone in a diagonal line that then fell into the bodice which was made of deep purple taffeta and was heavily ruched so it clung to every one of her curves. The taffeta then shot out at her waist but on one side it ended halfway down her skirt whilst another diagonal line running in the opposite direction ended at the floor with a soft point. From underneath the purple there came an explosion of bright orange as the underskirt flowed out from underneath in layers upon layers of silky orange ruffles that poured out like lava. The contrast of the two was beautiful and the judges were almost out of their seats as they tried to get a closer look. Even Gabriel was wide-eyed as he looked up at her but Adrien didn't see that. The only thing he could see was her as she walked towards the end of the runaway.

Everyone's eyes on her felt like piecing arrows as Marinette walked. Every one of her senses felt overwhelmed. There was too much sound, too much light, far too many people in the dark haze around the glistening white of the runaway. She tried looking for anybody in the crowd, Alya, Nathanaël, even Chat Noir's grinning face would have been welcome. He did say he would have a front row seat right? She couldn't make out a single face in the bobbing mass of people that were staring at her like she was an exotic bird in a cage and she wondered if she was going to gag again. Then she looked up at the end of the runaway and her eyes caught sight of Adrien. He was standing there looking at her, his green eyes glowing against the suit, and his gentle smile was directed at her. Holding onto that smile, her steps became more steady and she held herself high as she reached the very end of the runaway. She stood next to him and she smiled back, giggling a little when she saw how his cheeks flushed brightly.

"You look nice." She whispered and his cheeks went the colour of hot coals. "You and Alya did a wonderful job."

"Not as wonderful as yours. You look beautiful," Adrien replied. The word didn't go far enough to describe how stunning she looked, he thought, but for now it would just have to do. Among the folds of delicate silky fabric his hand found hers as a thought entered his head which made him suddenly grin like his alter-ego. "I think the judges want to look at the back."

He held up their entwined fingers as an innocent invitation to twirl her and she gave a little nervous smile. "Alright." She said, already taking a small step as she twirled under his arm, letting the skirt fly around her light as a breeze and exposing every layer of the orange ruffles underneath. She listened as the audience made a gasp at the sight and she couldn't help feeling a little stab of pride that it was her project that had caused it. What she didn't expect was for Adrien to then pull her in close, making her spin against his torso with her face inches from his own. She squeaked in surprise at the sudden feeling of his arms around her as he held her steady, his eyes locking her there with their deep sea green intensity. He gave her another smile and she was suddenly very glad that he was holding her up as her knees felt like buckling as he spoke softly.

"Beautiful as always." He said before he reached out and brushed his lips with hers. The touch was so light at first she wasn't sure if she was imagining it but the roar from the crowd and the feel of his arms pulling her closer made it apparent it was real, very real.

Adrien had to hold himself back, wanting his lips to take her the way he had back in her bedroom but he refused to, waiting for her lips to gently press against his in her own timid kiss that made the audience scream and stamp their feet like they were trying to start an earthquake. In the hullabaloo that followed, as Adrien and Marinette broke apart both looking dazed, nobody noticed one audience member slip away and make a break for the bathroom, his eyes smarting as he rubbed at his falling tears with his sleeve.

Nathanaël burst into the empty bathroom, not even pausing to turn the lights on before he dashed into a cubicle and locked himself in and the rest of the world out. He huddled up on the icy loo seat, his watery eyes spilling over into his knees as he tucked himself up. He bit his lip hard but it did nothing to ward away the howl that was burning in his throat and he loudly whimpered as his head sunk down to his knees, the coldness of the room passing over him uncaringly as the noises of his pain continued to escape him.

He really thought he had stood a chance. There had been moments over the past few days whilst working on the project where he had really thought he stood a chance with her. The time with the measurements, when he had asked her to hang out with him, the kiss, just now in the classroom with the make-up… all those times, he had felt like maybe the girl of his dreams, the one he had thought was so unreachable all this time, the one who was so high above him she was practically in Heaven, maybe there was a chance she could feel the same way. She had been within touching distance but now Adrien Agreste had dragged her away just when she was at his fingertips. That twirl… Nathanaël had seen the grin on his face just before and it had given him a bad feeling but he never imagined that kiss would have been the result of it. Every painful second of the kiss he had witnessed burned onto his retinas; the way Adrien had taken her hand like his fit in hers like a glove, how he had kissed her and made her eyes slowly close in bliss, how his hands had found her waist and gripped the fabric of the dress, the dress he had made with her… He stifled a scream but he couldn't stop his fist from lashing out and hitting the wall of the cubicle, making it rattle in its hinges.

"It's not fair!" He lowly growled through his tears. Why did Adrien have to do this? Didn't the boy have enough? He had money, he had a successful career, he had the face and body of Adonis, he had everything. Why did he have to take the one thing Nathanaël wanted, why did he have to love the one girl he loved? An image of Marinette laughing the way she had in their quiet working sessions swam before his eyes but instead of him standing there making her laugh, it was Adrien. His fist slammed into the wall again as this time he didn't bother to keep back his cries. "It should have been me!" He shouted. "She should love me, not him!"

He didn't see the little speck of black that flew in the window, one that he would have been familiar with had he seen it. The butterfly, shimmering with the sparks of the power it contained, looped its way under the cubicle door, wings not making a sound as it made a beeline for the pencil in Nathanaël's pocket. The moment it touched it and was sucked inside, the thin instrument went black and Nathanaël's head jerked up like he was a puppet whose strings had been pulled.

"You're right, this isn't fair," A smooth voice trickled into his ear like syrup, a voice he remembered somehow but he couldn't think where he had heard it before. Electric purple gleamed before his eyes as the man kept talking, each word stroking something inside him that made his anger swell. "All that time you spent with her, all that love you gave her and he threw it back in your face."

"Yes. He did. He took her away from me." Nathanaël snarled darkly and the voice seemed surprised.

"Evillustrator," The voice said and he could hear the wicked smile he was giving. "I wasn't expecting to see you again. He took what was rightfully yours, that boy who could have any girl he wanted and he goes and steals yours. I can give you the power to win her back and make her yours forever. All I need is-"

"I know what you need." Nathanaël spat out as he stood up, an evil smile contorting his features into something fearsome. "You will get what you want this time Hawkmoth. But I will have Marinette. She will be mine and mine alone." He let out a bark of laughter as he held up his arms and welcomed the bubbling black ooze that swamped his body. Outside, clouds began to gather as a low rumbling of thunder was heard from far away.

The judges looked up at the sky as the first clap of thunder rolled across the sky. Clouds as dark as granite were gradually making their way closer and the pattering of rain could already be heard on the roof. "OK everybody, let's make this quick so we don't all get drenched!" Madame Bustier called out to soothe the crowd who were being to mutter about heading home before the storm started. It was obvious one was coming and it seemed to be ominously forming right above their heads.

On the catwalk, the models had been lined up again, this time in a different order so Adrien and Marinette were on opposite sides of the line. Adrien couldn't have cared less though. He was still on a high from his second kiss with Marinette, though she didn't know that it was the second, and he kept sneaking glances over at her as she stood there proudly, a small giddy smile still etched on her face. He could see her coral lipstick was slightly smudged and he knew he probably had some on his mouth. He knew he must look like a kid who had just eaten spaghetti bolognese but he didn't care, the last thing he wanted to do was wipe it off and take it away. It was like her putting her mark on him and he stood there with a daft grin on his face as Madame Bustier readied herself, about to announce who the judges had agreed was the winner.

"First of all, I would like to thank you all for putting so much hard work into your final projects!" She beamed at her students proudly. "You all threw yourselves into it and you all look so amazing but there can only be one winner and that winner is…"

She paused to give a dramatic effect and the audience went silent but suddenly there was a loud crashing sound that shattered it all as the curtains behind the students was slashed and they fell to the floor in a heap. Then there was a whirring sound and the audience screamed and ran for cover as a giant buzz saw went soaring down the runaway, cutting it in two so when it had reached the end it crumpled to the ground. The models on the runaway were thrown to the ground hard and Adrien felt himself rolled as his body bounced off the hard ground. Is this another akuma? He thought as he tried to scramble to his feet but he froze in place when he heard a scream. He turned around to look at the stage and he gasped in disbelief when he saw who standing on the fallen curtain.

The Evillustrator was grinning down at him in a sick smile that showed off all his teeth like a shark. This couldn't be possible, could it? He thought wildly. Was there another akuma controlling him? However, this train of thought was soon quashed when he saw how different he looked. His skin was still purple and he still had the same black mask over his eyes along with the same clothes but there was something about him that felt very wrong and out of control. His orange hair was now wilder, sticking up from his head like licking flames from underneath his black beret, the stripes on his top were now irregular and jagged and instead of the three coloured dots he had on his chest, there was now just one glowing purple heart with a black gash through it. In one hand he brandished his familiar black pencil but Adrien felt sick when he looked over and saw that his other arm, which had his drawing screen on it, was tightly around Marinette's neck. She was struggling against him, kicking out at his legs to try and free herself but he shook her roughly and hissed something in her ear that made her stop. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she stared at him and he pulled himself to his feet and began to run towards her, his ears suddenly drowning in the cruel laughter of the Evillustrator.

"Run all you want Adrien Agreste!" He called out mockingly as he jerked Marinette closer to him so he could scribble something on his pad. "You won't get near her! She's all mine now!"

Adrien carried on running but he realised he wasn't moving. He looked down and saw a treadmill had appeared underneath him, going faster and faster as his legs blurred trying to keep up with it. His foot caught in it and he was thrown off, causing him to again crash into the floor. He fought to get himself upright but his bruised limbs refused to obey his orders as he watch in horror as the Evillustrator started to drag her away towards the classrooms.

"Marinette!" He shouted, reaching out an arm like he had a hope in hell of reaching her.

"Adrien!" She screamed his name as she was yanked across the floor, her own arm stretched out like she was trying to reach him too. A fork of lightning flashed across the sky directly above them and when the blinding light was gone, the pair of them had disappeared into the darkness.

 _*Runs to go hide in secret bunker* Please don't hurt me!_

 _Anyway this is just a quick warning that I am going on holiday this Sunday and, whilst I'm hoping to get another chapter up before I leave, I can't make any promises. I hope you enjoyed this, it's the longest chapter I've written for a fanfic ever!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Hi everyone, I told you I would get one up before my holiday and here it is! Just a warning, the first part of this contains some creepy stuff. It isn't too far (like rape or anything that horrible) but I didn't want anyone to read it and feel uncomfortable so if you don't want that, just go further down. Otherwise happy reading!_

Lightning continued to fork across the sky in angry bursts, illuminating the corridors in brief moments of light as Marinette was dragged along like a sack of rags before letting them fall back into blackness again. Marinette kicked out on the shiny tiled floor, her skirt sweeping across it like the bristles of a broom as she struggled but a sharp shout from the Evillustrator made her stop.

"Do you remember what I told you about struggling?" He snapped, another flash making his face leer out at her from the darkness. His voice sounded nothing like the sweet Nathanaël she knew and it scared her enough to make her tremble in his arms. "Struggle and golden boy gets it, do you hear me?"

She kept still as he yanked her down more stretches of corridor, past classroom after classroom until she wasn't sure where she was anymore. Then, without warning, he abruptly jerked her to her feet and pushed her through a door, nearly making her trip on the ruffles of her skirt. She clung to a desk to stop her falling to the ground and took the moment to hurriedly check where she was. She caught sight of white gas taps on the desks and Bunsen burners stacked on the back wall and realised they were in one of the science labs at the back of the school. She heard him chuckle behind her and she quickly spun around to see he was standing just behind her, the door now closed and locked and a smile twisting his face as his eyes roamed up and down her body.

"Finally." He said, the word almost sounding like a sigh. "I have you all to myself."

He twirled his pencil playfully in his fingers before he brought the tip to the pad and started to draw. Marinette felt something heave sharply at her wrists as she was slammed back into the desk. She looked down and gasped when she saw thick brown ropes had coiled around her wrists and waist like snakes and were pinning her to the desk. She tugged at them, trying to get herself loose, but the rough rope just rubbed sore red marks on her skin and the Evillustrator gripped her shoulders tightly to make her stop.

"No no no, don't do that," He said almost softly, his voice sending shudders down her spine as his fingers trailed up her arms and towards her throat. "We can't have you hurting yourself can we? I want you to be perfect." His hands ghosted over the skin at her collarbone before running through her hair. "My perfect Marinette." His eyes were devouring her hungrily and she tried to shrink away from his touch.

"Don't do this Nathanaël," She begged him. "I know you're still in there, please you have to fight him…"

"Oh, he's here alright," The Evillustrator sneered as he clasped his fingers into a fist and used her hair to pull her head back. "And even if he could stop, he wouldn't want to. You are ours now."

She only had enough time to let out a gasp before his lips had been rammed into hers, moving against them as she wriggled in discomfort. Unlike before, his lips now felt cold and almost slimy, like two wriggling worms as they travelled down to her throat. She shuddered again as she felt his tongue on the column of her throat making lazy circles as it slowly skimmed across her skin and she prayed that he wouldn't lick off the concealer and expose her hickey; she didn't want to make him angry. She winced when his head snapped back without warning and he started to shout but then she realised he wasn't addressing her as a purple haze shaped like a butterfly in neon lines came over his features.

"I know, I know, I will get the both their miraculous's!" He yelled into what seemed like thin air. "I don't care, I'm doing this first and you can't stop me!" The haze went as quickly as it had appeared and he looked back down at her with that sick smile again.

"I'm sorry about that Marinette," He whispered as he bent his head back to her skin. "We won't be interrupted again, my dear."

"Stop…please, I'm begging you, stop…" Marinette pleaded but his unwelcome mouth crashed back onto hers and smothered her cries. She tried to fight him but he held her firmly, his grip on her arms unyielding as he continued to coldly kiss her, each time getting more frantic than the last. His body was a trap on hers as she couldn't move and with each second her fears mounted. I need to get him away, she thought in panic. Tikki, somebody, anybody, please come and help me…

Suddenly there was a loud smashing sound and the Evillustrator was hurled across the room by a streak of silver that flashed back to the other side of the room quicker than the lightning outside. Marinette froze there for a moment as she heard the Evillustrator groan loudly as he got to his feet snarling at the figure who stood opposite him by the window he had just shattered breaking into the room.

"Get away from my princess." Chat Noir said as he took a step forwards, his voice low and deadly as he pointed his baton at him. His green eyes sparked dangerously as he approached and Marinette felt a stab of shock. She had seen him angry before but she had never seen him like this. His ears were flat on his head and pulled back, his tail was low and flickering back and forth quickly with each step he took and his eyes were focused on the Evillustrator like he was a mouse he was about to tear apart. His mouth opened wide, showing all of his teeth as he let out a hiss that made Marinette flinch with the fury behind it. The Evillustrator, however, just laughed as he nonchalantly brushed his shoulders and walked back to Marinette's side.

"Chat Noir. This is like déjà vu, I remember you interrupting our date once before." He smirked as he pinched her cheek between two of his fingers, making her wince at the pain and Chat Noir's eyes go wide as he hissed again. "It's time I taught you how rude it is to gate crash. Maybe I should put you in a box again, that way you can watch me and your _princess_ -"

He didn't get to finish as he was forced to leap backwards away from her as Chat Noir swung at him, the end of his baton only just skimming the heart emblazoned on his chest. "Don't you dare lay your disgusting fingers on her!" He snarled as he put himself protectively in front of her, his back arched as he crouched, prepared to strike again.

The Evillustrator growled at him, circling like a vulture as Chat's eyes followed him and Marinette powerlessly watched. Then with a snigger he twirled his pencil again and started to draw, the lightning fizzing all around them like an omen. He laughed as, from thin air, a long purple sword appeared in his hands, the blade covered in orange spikes like fire and the handle marked with a long thin gap. The Evillustrator neatly slid his pencil inside and they watched in horror as the sword seemed to glow with a black light. Did he just…alter his akuma? Chat stared as the sword was raised up and pointed directly at him. I didn't even think that was possible…

"Step away from her Chat Noir," He demanded, his eyes full of hostility. "She will be mine and only mine and nobody is going to stop us being together!"

"I'd sooner die than let you get to her!" Chat snapped back, his feet going into a stance as he readied himself to attack.

The Evillustrator just smirked again. "Very well. That wish can be granted." He said smoothly before he launched himself at him with a battle cry. Marinette screamed as Chat Noir parried the attack, pushing him backwards again before hurling himself into his own offensive and landing a blow across his face. The Evillustrator howled but still was able to thrust his sword forwards, catching him unawares and sending him spinning backwards with a small gash in his side that the jagged blade had torn from him. Chat Noir clutched it with a shout of agony but when he looked up and saw Marinette's look of panic and worry for him, his resolve only strengthened. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her, he vowed silently as he gave another hiss and went for another blow. He was going to keep her safe, he had to. More lightning flamed around them, making the room burn with white light as they fought, and his sensitive ears heard the sound of a downpour outside. I wonder if that is what is keeping her, he thought as he just dodged another attack and rolled to the floor, the tear in his side stretching painfully. I can only hope Ladybug turns up soon, I can't do this alone.

Meanwhile, Marinette was trying to get out of the clutches of the Evillustrator's bonds, fighting against the tough grip of the ropes but to no avail. She felt useless as she struggled but nothing budged. She needed Tikki here, she thought as the air rang with the sounds of clashing metal and thunder from outside. If I were Ladybug… "Tikki!" She shouted loudly, hoping her voice would carry along the corridor and reach the pile of bags she had hidden her purse in. "Tikki!"

What the heck is she shouting? Chat Noir thought as he carried on fighting, his battle with the Evillustrator raging on as the akuma seemed to be getting angrier with each second he was kept from Marinette. He was raining down blow after blow, near miss after near hit, and Chat was losing track of all the attacks he had to parry. He was so engrossed with the fight that he didn't notice when a little blur of red flew into the room through the window he had broken that went straight to Marinette. He only heard a sudden cry of "Tikki, spots on!" and he froze when a burst of pink light filled the room from behind him. He turned his head and his breath caught in his throat when he saw Ladybug was standing across the room from him.

Only her wrists and waist were tied to the desk with rope.

And her hair was now loose and wavy around her shoulders.

And she was in the exact spot where Marinette had been standing.

She was Ladybug the whole time? He thought, his mind whirring as his heart felt like it was soaring. Both his Lady and his princess where the same person? He didn't get another chance to think as suddenly, she was shouting at him and the Evillustrator's sword came crashing down on him.

"Chat, look out!" She yelled and he was just able to barrel-roll out of the way of the oncoming spiked blade. He just avoided causing a serious injury but the sword still swiped across his face, sending him to the ground as it took a small chunk from his cheek. He drew his hand up to his cheek and saw the blood on his claws, getting back to his feet with a growl as he wiped it away and looked over at Ladybug who was trying to grab her yoyo.

"Well, well, looks like we now know your secret identity Ladybug," The Evillustrator said as he looked over the heroine as she writhed against the rope, stepping closer and looming over her. "Looks like I've taken two birdies with one stone. Don't worry my Marinette, after I give Hawkmoth your miraculous he won't have any interest in you and I can have you all to myself. Your kitty friend however," He turned back to a heaving Chat Noir who was looking more and more furious with each word and he laughed as he cupped her cheeks in his hand. "Now he won't be so lucky."

"Get away from her!" He threw himself at the akuma with all the strength he had, knocking him away from her before barrelling back down on him. The two fought with even more ferocity than before as Marinette wriggled around and was finally able to hook her fingers around her yoyo.

"Lucky Charm!" She called out, more quietly than normal, as another burst of pink light swam before her eyes and a small spotted object fell back perfectly into her hand. A pocket knife! Perfect! She grinned as she looked down at the little red and black item and flicked the blade out. This is one charm I know exactly how to use.

As she set to work cutting the ropes, Chat Noir was being forced back as the Evillustrator launched another frenzy of attacks that it was taking all his concentration and skill to ward off. It took only a moment of him trying to look over at Ladybug for the Evillustrator to take the advantage, slamming the flat of the sword into his side and sending him sprawling to the ground. The hit had knocked out all the wind in his lungs and he choked and spluttered on the ground as he attempted to right himself with his baton, only to have it kicked out from under him. He tried to scrabble back but as he sat up his back hit the classroom wall and he realised he was trapped as the akuma approached, his face split by his evil grin as he lazily rested the sword on his shoulder.

"How very pitiful." He chortled down at him darkly. "You really are useless without your precious Ladybug." He raised the sword up above his head like a medieval executioner as the thunder continued to roll through the sky. "You shouldn't fret though. I'll take very good care of her."

Chat Noir closed his eyes and held his arms above his head to try and protect himself but the cold blade he was expecting to feel never came. Instead he heard a cry and he opened his eyes hesitantly to see the Evillustrator had been chucked against the opposite wall, his sword half-embedded in it as he slumped to the ground. He heard the whizzing sound of a yoyo string as the weapon zipped back into the hands of its owner and he looked up to see Ladybug was making her way towards him, worry etched on her face.

"Chat! Are you OK?" She asked him as she wobblingly helped him to his feet.

"I'm fine." He answered her, his voice a little shaky but he kept it hidden as he quickly grabbed for his baton which was lying on the ground a few feet away. "Marinette…I…I…"

"Later Chaton." She shushed him, her voice full of authority as she looked back at the Evillustrator who was trying to get back on his feet. He looked over at her and saw how her stance was different; she stood there brimming with confidence and her eyes glinted with steel as she assessed the situation. She was Ladybug and that meant strictly business for now. "The akuma is in the same place as before but now the pen is in the sword it might be harder to reach. Do you think you could get close enough to use Cataclysm on it?"

"I could but we'd need a distraction." Chat Noir said before he turned to her and saw the determined look on her face.

"Good thing I've learned a lot about distractions from you, hey kitty?" She smiled at him as he looked at her in horror and gripped her arm.

"No! You can't do that!" He said lowly, his face inches from hers so she could see the panic in his eyes. "It's way too dangerous, I'm not letting you get near him!"

"You'd do it for me in a heartbeat." She said softly, taking his hand from her forearm and bringing it to her cheek, letting his fingers brush against her skin. Then suddenly before he could react she had twisted away from him and ran towards the Evillustrator, her yoyo spinning beside her as she sprinted. The Evillustrator was now shakily on his feet but when he saw Ladybug approaching, he spun around to dig his sword out of the wall and brandished it with another grin.

"No!" Chat Noir shouted in warning but it was too late; the sword sliced through the air and Ladybug dived to avoid it, crashing down on the floor with a loud cry. At first, Chat was ready to fly in with his baton swinging but he stopped when he saw her wink at him as she fell. She then rolled across the ground, seemingly moaning in agony before she stopped right at the Evillustrator's feet. She's feigning this, he thought with shock at how brilliant and yet reckless her plan was. I hope she knows what she's doing.

Meanwhile, the Evillustrator was looking down at her like he couldn't believe his luck. As Ladybug's face creased with pain and she squirmed underneath him making little groans, he bent over and stroked her face like he was trying to smooth it away. She stiffened as he took both her hands and held them above her head, her bluebell eyes staring into his own wide with fear.

"Please…don't hurt me…" She whispered, her voice small and defenceless as it came out in little gasps and it drew an almost tender look from the akuma as he clasped both her wrists in one hand as the other ran down her spandex covered arms, leaving the sword abandoned by his side as his eyes only focused on her frightened face.

"I won't hurt you." He whispered. "I just need your miraculous Marinette and then you'll be mine forever-"

"Now Chat!" She suddenly shouted right in his face, stunning him momentarily as her partner leapt into action. He grabbed at the sword, stealing it away in one swift motion before the Evillustrator could even move to pick it back up.

"Cataclysm!" He cried out as the swirling black magic danced between his fingers and he brought it down on the hit of the sword, nearly snapping it in half with his own eagerness to see this akuma destroyed. The sword went black and crumpled into nothing as a single broken pencil fell to the floor with a jangle and a black butterfly tried to escape through the broken window.

"No you don't little akuma!" Ladybug's yoyo flew past his ear and easily captured the akuma. "I'm freeing you from evil!" She then realised it back into the night sky with a wave, it's wings now as brightly white as the moon above. His eyes found hers again as she tossed the pocket knife up into the air, neither of them registering the magical swarm of ladybugs that set to work putting everything right again as their eyes couldn't draw away from each other, there gazes saying a thousand words. The window behind them was suddenly repaired, the bits of cut rope around their feet disappeared and by her feet, a crouching Nathanaël let out a groan as he brought his hands to his head and rubbed his temples.

"Where…where am I?" He asked, his voice shaking in confusion and fear. His skin felt cold, very cold like it had turned to ice and there was a sick feeling inside him that was mounting every second he stared at the two superheroes. This had happened before, only he had come to in Chloe's room. What had he done now? "Ladybug? Chat Noir? What happened? Did I hurt anybody?"

"It's OK Nathanaël," Ladybug said gently, kneeling next to him and helping him to his feet. "Everything is alright now, you didn't hurt anybody. I'll take you back to the teachers, you need to rest, you've been through a lot…" Tears were biting at the back of her throat at how vulnerable he now looked like a frightened toddler separated from his mother. She looked over at Chat Noir and how he was staring at her awed, uncertainty written all over him in the way he stood, like he wasn't sure whether to run away or embrace her. She sighed as she felt more guilt stab her that everything had come to light in this way. That wasn't what her partner deserved. "We need to talk Chat." She told him firmly and he nodded in response, incapable in that moment of doing much else. "Up on the roof in five minutes?"

"You got it my Lady." He said as she walked from the room, still carefully holding up a weak Nathanaël and gently leading him down the corridor. "I'll be waiting."

The worst of the storm had moved on from Paris, the thunder and lightning fizzling away quietly almost like they were apologising for their presence. The only thing that remained was the rain which poured down in thick sheets glazing the world with its blue watery glow. The cold droplets were battering into him like bullets and running down his leather suit in rivers but Chat Noir barely noticed the rain as he stood waiting on the roof, his golden hair clinging damply to his scalp and his ears twitching with every raindrop as he looked around for any sign of her. He heard a loud beeping from his hand and he looked down to see another green toe on his paw print was missing. He only had one left now.

"Chaton?" He heard a quiet voice ask from behind him and it sent shivers through him that were nothing to do with the rain. He turned around slowly to see she was walking towards him, strands of her loose wet hair plastered to her face and mask. She also had only one spot left on her earrings and as she stopped a few paces away from him, she looked up and gave him a small nervous smile that surprised him. She was nervous of him? There were many words he could use to describe her but nervous was never one that had entered his head. He gave a little chortle and it seemed to lighten the heavy mood that had fallen on them.

"I now see why you don't wear your hair loose princess," He said, his fingers itching to step forwards and sweep all the hair from her face. "It's hardly the most practical thing for battle."

She gave a short laugh, tucking the wayward locks behind her ears as she stood there awkwardly, one foot rubbing against the other anxiously. "Yeah I guess." She said simply before her face fell and she asked "Were you…surprised it was me?"

Her eyes searched his face nervously as he gave another chuckle. "A little bit, yes," He admitted. "But I really shouldn't have been. You were so similar, you were both brave, courageous, both stood up for justice… not to mention both amazingly witty and beautiful." Ladybug's cheeks went red and he grinned at how flustered she had suddenly become. "Both sides of you captured my heart my Lady. It just took me a while to see that I loved all of you."

"Chat…" She whispered, tears sparkling in her eyes amongst the raindrops, but before she could say anymore there was another loud bleeping and she was engulfed in pink light. Chat Noir blinked at the brightness of it and when he looked back at the spot where she had been standing, Marinette was now there. She was back in her ball gown which now looked very tattered after being dragged everywhere and the fabric was getting soaked in the rain, the purple taffeta growing even darker and the orange ruffles going limp in the wet like dying flower petals. Her hair hung dead straight in thick rods from the rain and her make-up was running down her cheeks but she had never looked more beautiful to him as she stepped forwards and took his hand. He grasped hers tightly, never wanting to let it go, and it took him a moment before he could speak again.

"I guess I have to return the favour, huh princess?" He asked, his voice faltering slightly. "Would you…want to see me without the mask?"

Marinette could only nod and within seconds she was blinded by a flash of green light. She kept her eyes closed until she felt a soft hand caressing her cheek and heard a whisper that was very nearly stolen by the rain.

"You can look now princess. It's only me."

She opened her eyes and the first thing she saw were the same green eyes as always, the same ones that had shaken her to the core and turned everything upside down. She now took comfort in those eyes, using them as an anchor as she stepped back to see a very familiar face.

"Adrien?" She breathed out, the word almost an afterthought as she stared up at him, still dressed in his green suit decorated with golden ladybugs and with a grin on his face that made her feel like she had been blind for the whole school year. "It was you the whole time?"

"Yeah. You're not…disappointed, are you?" He asked worriedly, dipping his head slightly only to feel her step closer and laugh as she brought his head up to look at her again.

"Of course I'm not disappointed. Do you know how much I've been torturing myself because I had a crush on both of you? The fact that you're the same person… it's nothing short of amazing. I guess we did the same thing-fell in love with one person completely." Both their eyes were now shining with tears and the rain around them went unnoticed as the teenagers pulled each other closer, their foreheads pressed together.

"I told you you'd fall for me eventually my Lady." Adrien smiled before he leaned forwards and kissed her, both of them wrapped their arms around each other like they were creating their own little bubble away from the world where no one else could reach them. His lips moved slowly and tenderly over hers as her arms hung from his neck and his went to the small of her back to keep her close to him. There was no need for the fighting of their first kiss nor of the shyness of their second; their third kiss was a vow as they finally found each other and everything became clear.

He was the first to draw away, mainly for breath but also so he could see into her eyes. They really were the windows to her soul, he thought as he saw himself reflected in the happy gaze he found there. Surely something in him was going to burst; there was no way he could be this happy. A large part of him wanted to go crazy, run around, dance, sing, yell to the world how happy he was that the girl he loved loved him back but instead he stayed there still, getting lost in the millions of shades of blue he saw in her eyes.

Then she nuzzled her face closer to him and whispered softly in his ear. "Je t'aime Adrien."

Those words were like a trigger to him and all his emotions seemed to explode at once. Before she could do anything he had scooped her up and was spinning her around in the air as fast as his legs would go, her long skirt a blur as the rain poured down all around them and the air was filled with their laughter.

"Adrien, put me down!" Marinette cried out but she was laughing too hard for anyone to take her seriously. As they slowed down, their garments sodden and their faces jammed against each other, his only answer was to cuddle her closer until his mouth found her ear.

"Je t'aime Marinette. Je t'aime."

 _*pokes head from out of bunker* Is it safe to come out now?_

 _Honestly, I feel like I've just binged on sugar after writing that last bit, I am such a sap for scenes in the rain. Also this isn't the last chapter, I have another one planned but it is going to be a while before it is published because I'm going away. I will try to write but nothing is guaranteed and I'm sorry for that. I hope it is worth it when it comes and this will tide you all over until the very end._


	10. Chapter 10

_Guess who? Yep, I'm back from holiday and I had a total blast (and I surprisingly got some writing done). Thank you to everyone who left such nice reviews for the last chapter and for all the chapters, I can't believe it has reached 150! I'm sorry to have kept you waiting but here is the last chapter of this story *sob*. I hope it was worth the wait!_

Even though he didn't really feel up to it, Nathanaël still went into school the following Monday. His mother hadn't wanted him to, telling him he needed to rest as she fretting over him and said how pale he looked, and their family doctor had agreed with her, saying that this second time had been a lot more draining on his body and he should really stay at home, but Nathanaël had insisted. He knew it would cause a stir in school but he knew people were going to talk about him and he figured if they were, he might as well be there to hear it. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't, he told himself as he made his way to the classroom, keeping close to the wall to avoid the hungry stares of the other students that stood in packs around the playground. He didn't want to be seen and hunted down.

He sat in his old space at the back of the classroom, separate from the fog of noise outside that was gently pounding at his skull as he tried to distract himself with drawing. A piece of paper sat in front of him with a few half-hearted lines scrawled across the white surface but he couldn't concentrate on making them form anything, his brain too full to conjure up anything concrete to draw. He still felt a little shaky, like his bones were made of eggshells and would shatter at a sudden sound. One hand clawed through his red hair like he was trying to drag the thoughts he was having out of his mind, thoughts that had been plaguing him since he had found himself on his knees on that cold floor in the science lab. They were so dark and scary, they made him shudder and wish he had stayed at home after all.

He still couldn't remember anything from the first time he had been akumatised. It was just one big blank space in his memory where he couldn't recall a thing. One minute he had been at school clutching his books to his chest as he walked to the headmaster's office and the next he was in Chloe Bourgeois's suite at her father's hotel in the middle of the night with no recollection of how he had got there. The experience hadn't been pleasant but at least he had the bliss of ignorance about what had happened. This time was very different. At first like before, he remembered nothing and he had struggled to think of anything as Ladybug had helped him from the floor and led him gently back to the crowds. Then, after reassuring him again that everything was fine and nobody had been hurt, she had melted into the throng of concerned people around him and he had hoped that would be the end of it. Instead, as time went on, little images had started to come back to him, starting off strange and murky like he was staring at them through water but then coming back in such breathless clarity he knew he could never have imagined them.

There had been flashes of bright light on the tiled floors of the corridor, making them spark before his eyes as he felt the weight of dragging something along, something that was fighting against him. Then there had been Marinette's face staring up at him in a way that made him sick to his stomach; her eyes wide in terror and her skin pale as she desperately tried to get away from him, thrashing like a caged animal against the ties on her wrists. Then there were a pair of green eyes, eyes with concave pupils and deep irises that burned into him like fire with anger. If he had seen those eyes anywhere else, he would have been compelled to draw them but they were so terrifying and wrenched such a strange guilt from him, he wished he could just forget them. Other memories would probably surface, he knew that, but he wasn't sure any could be worse than that.

So far he hadn't told a soul about them. He didn't want to seem mad and he was sure most doctors would just say he was imagining it all. A guilty complex, nothing more, he could already hear their patronising tones. The thought made him feel very alone. Was this just what happened when you were akumatised twice? Nobody could say for sure, he was the only one who had experienced it. I hope it stays that way, he thought with a cold shiver that ran down his spine. I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy.

There was a sudden soft knock at the door and he lifted his head like a startled deer at the gentle sound. Everything inside him felt on edge, like he was a tensed rubber band on the verge of being stretched out of shape. He forced himself to take a breath as the classroom door slowly opened and a pair of blue eyes looked in.

"Hey Nathanaël." Marinette shyly greeted him as she edged into the room, walking towards him with her eyes cast slightly downwards like she was looking for tripwires. His heart sank when he saw her. Remembering how scared she had looked, he didn't want to imagine what he had put her through and the fact that it was the second time he had done so… He was surprised she could even look at him.

"Hey Marinette." He replied. "Are…are you alright?" To anyone else it would have been a simple greeting but to them, the meaning ran much deeper.

"I'm fine." She reassured him quickly. "Really I am." She was standing a few steps away and the awkwardness in the room felt deep enough to wade in. It was just like before the project started, he thought, feeling his face go red. It's like none of what we went through ever happened and we're back to square one. The realisation only made his heart sink deeper.

Suddenly, Marinette jerked her head up a little and she dived her hand into her pocket. Her hand wriggled around inside for a moment before she drew something out and held it out to him. "I came to give you this," She explained as Nathanaël slowly got up from his desk and took it. "It's your medal from the fashion show. The judges all really liked our dress and we came in first but they didn't get given out last night so… here it is!"

Nathanaël looked down at his palm where the round golden disc engraved with a picture of a dress and the school logo dangled from a loop of green ribbon. He gave a small smile as it sat there in a perfect fit. At least he could get something right. He looked back up at Marinette who was smiling in relief at him. "Thanks." He said. "I appreciate it."

"It was nothing, you earned it after all." A moment went past where they both fell into silence again, Marinette looking like it was physically paining her. "Nathanaël, I'm-"

"I'm sorry," He said. "For everything I did. I don't know quite what I did but it must have been something awful and I never wanted to do that to you, I didn't mean it, I just got so…" Words failed him as he choked and tears came to his eyes. "I don't know how you can be so nice to me after what happened, I really must be evil inside for Hawkmoth to get me again…"

All the air was suddenly taken from his lungs as Marinette slammed into him and hugged him so tightly, his bones felt like they were cracking. Her voice was breaking as she whispered into his ear and he could feel her shoulders shaking against his.

"You are not evil," She insisted. "You couldn't be evil if you tried Nathanaël, you're one of the kindest, sweetest people I know. The only reason you were akumatised again was because of me. I… I should have realised sooner and I should have been more honest and I should have done a million things and then you wouldn't have had to go through this… I'm the one who should be saying sorry, not you." She drew her head back and he saw the tears that caught like gemstones on her eyelashes. "I didn't want this all to happen, I feel so bad about it…"

"It's not your fault." Nathanaël said softly. "Look, I was the one who got all jealous and angry not you. I can't blame you for not having the same feelings." The words felt like iron spikes in his throat but he knew they were true; he would never be able to have any sort of friendship with her if he wasn't honest.

"I did have some feelings for you Nathanaël," She said honestly, leaning back so they were still holding onto the other's arms but were facing each other. "Don't think I didn't and was leading you on or anything. All the good times we had… I will treasure them. It's just…" She wrung her hands as she struggled to think of something to say. "Just…"

"Too much water under the bridge." He supplied, smiling a little at the sigh of relief she gave. "I know. And besides, I know how you feel about him." He added softly, the image of his rival and the overall victor coming to both of their minds. "I just hope we can still be friends. I don't want us to be all weird again."

Marinette was crying again, the tears pouring down her cheeks at too great a speed to wipe away. "Thank you," She sobbed as she gripped him in another tight embrace that he was now certain had broken a rib. "And of course we're still friends, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Nathanaël felt like a weight had dropped from his chest as his arms went around her in a friendly hug. He had done what he thought would have been impossible; he had talked it all out with Marinette and they were still friends, still after all this. He let out a breath, his lungs no longer feeling like he had been holding it in since she walked in, and she looked up at him with a small giggle.

"Feeling better now?" She asked him. "I do too."

He nodded as he angled his head to look at hers. Her eyes looked into his, holding some of their old glimmer again, and another memory suddenly jolted in front of his eyes, one that was so clear it made him blink rapidly. It was those same pair of eyes, that same glorious shade of cerulean blue with that same spark behind it, but they were staring out from a red and black spotted mask. The realisation made him tense up and Marinette instantly felt it in his arms and looked at him worriedly.

"Nathanaël, what's wrong?"

"Nothing! It's just…I…Marinette…"

"Yes?"

"I know you're Ladybug."

He felt her stiffen as she looked at him in shock. "You… you can remember?"

"Not everything," He said. "Bits of it keep coming back to me, little fragments that don't make any sense but I remember your eyes… they are the same as Ladybug's." She still looked nervous and, acting only on instinct, he hugged her closer to him, feeling the stiffness ease from her limbs. "I won't tell anyone, I promise. You don't need to swear me to secrecy or anything, I'm the only one who saw and I won't say a thing, honest."

"Oh Nathanaël…" She gave a surprised sob as she buried her head in his shoulder and clutched him again. "I really don't deserve a friend like you."

"It's nothing, really." He said but he still felt a glow of pride at her words. They squeezed each other once more before they broke apart, both with small smiles on their faces. "I'll see you later Mari."

"Yeah, see you later." She replied, giving him another smile before she turned and left the room in a much happier state than when she entered. He went to go sit back at his desk but he couldn't help but feel drawn to the window and he soon found himself pressing his nose against the glass. He saw Marinette walk across the playground, making her way over to the wall where Adrien was leaning, clearly waiting for her. The second he noticed her he seemed to come to life, springing away from the wall and cuddling her to him as she bounded towards him. They talked for a few minutes, practically nose to nose as he watched their lips move, before Adrien took hers in a gentle kiss that took them into their own little world away from the noise of the playground. Nathanaël felt his chest twinge at the sight, like the string of a violin had snapped somewhere deep inside him, but it wasn't as painful as he had thought it would be. Maybe we really can still be friends, he thought with a smile as he went back to his desk and stared back down at the wayward lines on the paper. Maybe now I can finally move on.

However, his new sense of security vanished a moment later as the door opened again and his classmates started to file in. They were a lot quieter than usual and he could feel all their eyes on him. He kept his head down and his eyes on the paper, not wanting to look up and see their faces. What would he see there? Fear? Anger? Disdain? He wondered if they would openly make fun of him or whether he would only hear it from whispered corners and rumours that followed him from room to room. All the rising panic inside him made him want to hide under his desk or bolt home but he kept himself still like nobody would notice him if he didn't move. Then suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and the touch nearly made him scream. He covered his mouth with his hand to stop it and he looked up frantically, only to lower his hand when he saw it was Rose standing there.

"Hello Nathanaël." She said, her eyes swimming with compassion as she smiled down at him. "How are you feeling?"

Nathanaël felt his mouth gawp at her. Did he really just hear that? "B-better." He answered finally, his voice shaking as much as he was. "I'm feeling a lot better now."

"That's great!" She beamed down at him before she suddenly gripped his shoulders in a hug that knocked him sideways. "I'm so happy that you're back with us!"

Nathanaël braced himself for some sort of joke to be pulled but none came. All Rose did was hug him again and say again how happy she was that he was alright before she went over to her own desk. Then, one by one, all the other members of his class came up to him each with their own support. Kim and Ivan both lightly punched him on the arm with a manly "Good to see you back man", trying to sound cool but the relief on their faces too apparent for anyone to take seriously. Juleka shyly came up to him and gave him a quick hug as well, saying how much she liked his design whilst slowly brushing her sweeping fringe from her face before going red and hurrying back to her desk where Rose gave her a pat on the back. Alix offered to teach him some fighting moves if Hawkmoth ever came calling again and Max told him the statistical chances of being akumatised for a third term were so low, it was practically impossible. Even Chloe made her way over to give him a pat on the head, accompanied by a rare sweet smile from Sabrina. Everyone had something nice to say with a message of support and it bowled him over. He felt tears at the corners of his eyes at how overwhelming it was; he had been expecting such a different response, he almost didn't believe this was happening.

The last people to come up were Marinette and Adrien who had walked in behind everyone else. Marinette swiftly hugged him again, whispering another gentle "Thank you" into his ear before she went and sat next to Alya. That only left Adrien who held out his hand in front of him, inviting Nathanaël to shake it.

"I'm glad you're alright." He said. "I know I'm manly to blame for this whole thing and I want you to know I'm really sorry about it. I never wanted anyone to get hurt."

Nathanaël looked at him slightly hesitant before he gripped his hand and shook it, his eyes never leaving Adrien's as they formed a final truce. "It's OK. You couldn't have known all this would happen." He answered with a nod. "Just… take care of her, will you?"

"You have my word." Adrien said solemnly, giving what looked like a small salute before he too went to his seat. Just then, Madame Bustier walked into the class and started the lesson, giving a concerned look over at Nathanaël to see if he was alright before she turned and started writing on the board with a relieved smile.

The lesson trailed on as Nathanaël's concentration started to wane. He wound up staring out of the window, looking up at the slate of cloudless blue sky and enjoying the bliss he hadn't thought he would feel again for a long time. As he watched, a white butterfly came to land on the glass of the window, lazily opening and closing its wings in the motions of a clockwork toy. The veins on the wings were like those on a leaf and the patterns they wove made them look like they were made of silk. Nathanaël couldn't take his eyes away from it and he wasn't sure how long he watched it for before it flew away, flowing away towards the sky like a feather.

Nathanaël tore his eyes away to look down at his paper and suddenly he could see something among the few lines he had made. Inspiration flooded through him like a dam had burst and he started to draw, his pencil flying across the paper and his arm moving like a man possessed. It was only when the lesson had finished and everyone else had left that he finally held up the paper in front of him, his heart feeling like it would burst with pride. There, brought to life on the page, was the white butterfly. It was the most detailed picture he had ever done as he had paid so much detail in every inch of the wings and he couldn't help but be pleased with it. Panting like he had just ran a marathon, he looked back out of the window with a smile. It was very apt, he thought, that it was a butterfly that had tormented him yet the first thing he had drawn since was a butterfly in mid-flight. They were meant to be symbols of freedom and he chuckled when he realised how perfect it was.

Because for the first time, he finally felt free.

 _And that's it! I hope this makes up for giving Nat such a hard time, I felt really mean about it and I wanted him to just talk it out. He deserves it after all and I still want to see more from him._

 _Lastly, thank you so much to all of you who reviewed, followed, faved or just read my story. I never imagined so many would read it and it really makes me happy to see your comments. They mean so much and make me smile like a fool. Also I'm sorry to all those who wanted a Nathette ending. I was really surprised there were so many of you and I know lots of reviewers wanted one. You wouldn't believe how many times I nearly changed it throughout, especially during Nathanael's cute bits, but in the end it just felt forced with what I wanted to happen. You're all awesome though and I hope you still like it._ _J_ _See you in the next story, I'm certain there will be one, I'm too far gone now to stop ;)_


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